tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53580450409232007622024-02-19T03:06:23.119-08:00Unitarian Universalist Congregation of MiamiWe are a liberal religious community: that provides a safe space for spiritual and ethical exploration, education, discourse and dialogue; respects human diversity, dignity and rights; pursues personal and world peace; and promotes protection of natural resources of the world.D-Rockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06225048516482634581noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358045040923200762.post-79464907764826035542014-06-30T16:49:00.002-07:002014-06-30T16:49:57.980-07:00General Assembly 2014 -- Day 5So it's all finally over. I wish it would never end but MAN am I glad it's over. As you can tell, I was so exhausted that it took me nearly a whole extra day to put this up but here we go...<br />
<br />
For me, this was a day of deepening connections. Sunday Morning Worship was lovely and the last General Session and Closing Celebration were nice in spite of a somewhat sparse crowd, but what I'll remember about this day are things like platonic cuddles with a fellow Starr King seminarian during General Session/Closing Celebration and meeting for dinner to decompress with my fellow UU Miami delegates and the large gathering of young adults at a local bar for one last hurrah, complete with a spontaneous sing-along to "Wonderwall" and oodles of wonderful conversations and discussions.<br />
<br />
It's difficult to gauge so soon after it's over, but this may well have been my favorite General Assembly I've ever been to, which almost seems impossible to fathom. What's even more mindblowing is that next year will probably be even BETTER when I come as a 2nd year seminarian for Ministry Days. Oh what a journey this Unitarian Universalism thing has been and will continue to be for a long, looong time.D-Rockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06225048516482634581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358045040923200762.post-64388325265042047332014-06-28T23:00:00.000-07:002014-06-28T23:00:29.946-07:00General Assembly 2014 -- Day 4It almost seems hard to believe at this point (even though it wouldn't have been at all hard to believe before GA started) but today may have been my favorite day of GA. The workshops were fine. I caught the tail end of "The Art of Missional Church" and split the other time slot between "Many Roads, One Journey to Beloved Community" and "GA Talks: Looking Forward," both of which were very cool. Plenary (er, "General Session") was pretty cool just because the General Assembly overwhelmingly voted to divest from fossil fuels.<br />
<br />
Then it was time for the Ware Lecture. WOW. Sister Simone Campbell was AMAZING. Totally blew me away. She talked about "walking towards trouble" as an act of faith and shared some incredible stories she's heard while doing the work she does and it was simply awe-inspiring. If you weren't able to attend the viewing party at UU Miami, I highly, HIGHLY recommend going to the UUA website and finding the recording of her Ware Lecture and watching it <i>several</i> times. So beautiful.<br />
<br />
After the lecture I killed some time and then bought Sister Simone Campbell's book and got it signed and took a photo with her which was awesome! Then I was off to a HUGE GA worship with The Sanctuary Boston that was far and away the highlight of my week (with the possible exception of The Sanctuary Boston's Wednesday night YA Opening Worship), particularly because they invited dozens of folks to be on stage to worship with them and I was one of them. What a beautiful, BEAUTIFUL service. I know I've already gone on and on about how amazing The Sanctuary Boston and David Ruffin are but MAN ARE THEY AMAZING. This was also in the General Session Hall so do yourself a favor and make SURE you watch the video. Indescribable.<br />
<br />
After that was Waterfire, which was pretty awesome, but me and my friends were spent from worship so after enjoying Waterfire for about 20-30 minutes, we just hung out at a bar for a bit and then turned in for the night.<br />
<br />
And yeah, it's kinda ironic that my so-called "favorite day of GA" was the one I wrote the least about but that's just how immensely powerful the Ware Lecture and Worship were and words fall way short of describing either of them. In about 14 hours all this will be over and, as usual, I will struggle with how I return to <i>normal life</i> but for this brief moment in time, everything is amazing and every drop of energy in my being is drained and I love my faith and the people that make it what it is more than I could possibly describe. I might even go as far as to say that this was the best GA I've been to yet. :)D-Rockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06225048516482634581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358045040923200762.post-90784037363484030612014-06-27T21:12:00.002-07:002014-06-27T21:12:37.808-07:00General Assembly 2014 -- Day 3So once again, today started off with another amazing worship service featuring the wonderful David Ruffin as well as the AMAZING Rev. Thandeka, who gave a BEAUTIFUL, heartfelt, passionate homily. That was just part one of the two-part "Gathered Here In the Mystery of Love" workshop. Part two was the actual workshop portion but there was also a lot of interpersonal sharing. One of the most powerful things we discussed was times when worship "fell short" for us and why and how we can make it so that it doesn't happen in our congregations. Rev. Thandeka spoke passionately about the three elements that are crucial to any worship service: 1. Music, 2. Spoken Words, and 3. Synchronicity between the Music and Words. And of course, we ended by singing. :)<br />
<br />
Then it was time for Plenary...er..."General Session." Nothing particularly exciting except that we DID choose a new Congregational Study/Action Issue for 2014-2018: "Escalating Inequality." SO happy that these folks dusted themselves off after "Exploring Class Barriers" lost a very close run-off to "Reproductive Justice" in 2012 and reframed and tried again. This is going to begin a great many conversations that BADLY need to happen in our faith right now and I'm incredibly excited to be part of what happens next!<br />
<br />
General Session went quite a bit over time and pretty much everyone was really hungry at that point, so I went to get some [lunch? dinner? whatever] with my lovely new friend Katherine whom I had the pleasure of walking back to the dorms with from Trinity last night. We were soon joined by Bart and his lovely partner Amelia for some good food and wonderful conversation. After we ate, Katherine, Amelia, and I ran to catch the end of the short Young Adult vespers service which was lively and lovely and then Katherine and I got our seats for the Service of the Living Tradition.<br />
<br />
Service of the Living Tradition was very cool even though it's kinda not really my thing. The sermon by Rev. Rebekah A. Montgomery was phenomenal. She shared some fascinating stories of her time as a military chaplain in Afghanistan. It was great but I was so exhausted and it wasn't really my style in terms of worship, especially after all the incredibly vibrant, heartfelt worship I've experienced this week. After the service, I walked on back to my dorm and now here I am typing this.<br />
<br />
Tomorrow is the big day with WATERFIRE which will also be preceded by what I can only assume will be an AMAZING worship service put together by none other than The Sanctuary Boston. Definitely need to get some rest for that so with that I bid you all adieu until tomorrow!D-Rockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06225048516482634581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358045040923200762.post-43233723990808118262014-06-26T23:02:00.001-07:002014-06-26T23:03:02.763-07:00General Assembly 2014 -- Day 2Day two started off pretty much the way day one ended: Worshipping with The Sanctuary Boston. WOW. Just...WOW. I know I've already ranted about them but goodness gracious these young folks can worship their ever-loving faces off. SO much singing and SOOO much heart and SOOOOO much <b><i>love</i></b>. It is so insanely beautiful what they do and it has been a gift and a blessing to have been a part of it. Rev. David Ruffin is my new hero. I gave him and many others involved with The Sanctuary Boston big, HUGE hugs after the "workshop" (that word doesn't do it justice--and really it was mostly straight up worship). Can't WAIT to see him do his thing AGAIN tomorrow in the two-part "Gathered Here In the Mystery of Love" worship/workshop!<br />
<br />
I spent a little time walking around the Exhibit Hall for a while and introduced myself to Starr King Director of Recruitment, Rev. Jeremiah Kalendae. Great to finally meet him. Then I got some food and then went up to Starr King's "Sacred Activism: Heart-Opening Multireligious Exercises for Liberation" workshop with outgoing SKSM president Rev. Dr. Rebecca Parker and Rev. Jeremiah as well as Starr King's Interim Director of Advancement Abbey Tennis (who also has a brilliant singing voice) and someone else whose name escapes me. Really interesting workshop going through a number of spiritually nourishing exercises from several religious traditions, including lots of beautiful singing and some wonderful chanting.<br />
<br />
Wandered around chatting with some people for a while and then hit up a three-hour workshop entitled "AWAKE Ministries: A 21st Century Model for UU Worship" led by Rev. John T. Crestwell, among others, which was AMAZING. Veeery music-centered, much like The Sanctuary Boston, but much more gospel-styled music with a full band--many of whom are Christians--and a lot more "God language," (it <i>is</i> Rev. John T. Crestwell, after all) which I actually liked. I like the idea that UUs are (or should be) getting more comfortable with religious language than we have been. We're a religion, it's about time we act like it! The first half of the program was a beautiful, joyous worship service and then we took a short break and came back for the more workshop-y portion of the program where they discussed how they intentionally create deeply multicultural, multigenerational community in the home congregation of AWAKE Ministries in Annapolis, MD. Very, VERY interesting and useful stuff. I took lots of notes and I can't wait to get to work on implementing some of what AWAKE (and The Sanctuary Boston) are doing at UU Miami!<br />
<br />
Wandered around a bit more. Hit up the exhibit hall again. Had a lovely chat with Abbey Tennis at the SKSM booth. Bought a few chalice necklaces and one of the lovely ladies there was nice enough to give me some cord for my bamboo chalice because the one it came with broke. She even threaded it and tied it up for me!<br />
<br />
Around 6:30 I met up with Jenn Toth and a bunch of friends of hers at a nearby restaurant for some food and fellowship which was lovely. Then at 7:30 it was time for <b>SYNERGY</b>! This is always one of the highlights of GA for me and this time was no exception. Beautiful stories and beautiful singing and SO much joyous celebration from the bridging youth and their wildly supportive kin. I am always struck by an incredible sense of pride and awe and humility being in community with the amazing young people at General Assembly each year. They (we) <i>truly</i> are the future--but also the present!<br />
<br />
After Synergy, a group of about seven young adults convened at a local bar for some "small group ministry" and seven turned into like 20 so fast we almost didn't notice. Got to chat with several people I truly love and respect a great deal (like the exceedingly lovely Raziq and my UU brother from another mother Jeremy) and had some particularly lovely conversation with GA Planning Committee Chair Bart Frost. The perfect end to another perfect day at GA! :)D-Rockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06225048516482634581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358045040923200762.post-41342652423102759452014-06-25T22:29:00.001-07:002014-06-25T22:29:11.667-07:00General Assembly 2014 -- Day 1For me, today started yesterday.<br />
<br />
I had a 7am flight out of Fort Lauderdale airport and the Super Shuttle was coming to pick me up at 4am. So OF COURSE I put off packing until the last minute and didn't even TRY to fall asleep until midnight. Even then, it just wasn't happening so I ate ice cream and watched Wayne's World and Heavy Metal.<br />
<br />
By the time the Super Shuttle arrived, my eyes were heavy with sleep but no matter how sleepy I get, sleeping sitting up is a major struggle, particularly with my neck muscles. I drifted in and out of sleep for the two-hour flight to Washington, D.C. and then rushed to my gate to catch my connecting flight to Providence when who should I see but Standing On the Side of Love campaign manager Jennifer Toth! We chatted for a while and split a cab when we got to Providence. And then the sweating began.<br />
<br />
Providence, you see, has a lot of hills. And, well, summer apparently means the same thing here as it does everywhere else because MAN is it hot and humid here. So I thought I was staying at RISD's "15 West" dorms (like they told me in my confirmation email...) but was told at check-in that I was booked at "Colonial House" instead. This was around noon. In the 15 or so minutes I spend wandering around the hilly wonderland of Providence, I became drenched in sweat and would continue to be until, like, 15 minutes ago when I took the mother of all cold showers. Because, spoiler alert: RISD dorms don't have A/C.<br />
<br />
Anyway, once I found my dorm, I toweled off as best I could and set out to the convention center to catch Young Adult orientation. That was pretty cool. Didn't see as many old friends as I expected but there was a rousing Rock, Paper, Scissors tournament replete with cheering and chanting and hooting. After that I went and got registered and credentialed and all that good stuff and found some friends who were having drinks with the UU Seminarians Salon Facebook group. That was really great, talking to a few amazing seminarians (especially Rose and Schuyler) about our stories and our call to ministry and interesting papers we've written, all over beers and fries.<br />
<br />
Then I went and checked in our very own UU Miami BANNER for the Banner Parade (yes, I FINALLY remembered to bring it this year) and then back to the room to towel off some more and then to Viva Mexico for some quick and cheap tacos before the Opening Celebration. I have to say, as much as I loved marching in the banner parade and as much of an honor as it was, and as wonderfully LONG as the parade was, I can't help feeling like I missed out on way too much of the Opening Celebration. Oh well, I got to see a good chunk of it and was especially blown away by the amazing display of lights and paper lanterns. BEAUTIFUL.<br />
<br />
After that was the real highlight of the night. Took another long, sweaty walk over to First Unitarian Providence for the Young Adult Opening Worship featuring The Sanctuary Boston which was INCREDIBLE. These people have an amazing thing going, creating beautifully emotional, heartfelt, vulnerable, intensely musical and intensely meaningful worship. Absolutely blew me away. I can't wait for their workshop tomorrow when they'll teach us how they do it and how we can bring it back to our own congregations!<br />
<br />
After that, walked back to my dorm, took the most EPIC cold shower of my life, and started typing this. Honestly, I might actually take another cold shower because it's still ridiculously stuffy in this room and that shower felt glorious. Yeah, I think I'll go do that right now. See you tomorrow, all! Blessed Be. <3 p=""></3>D-Rockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06225048516482634581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358045040923200762.post-67954787002391122752013-07-04T13:01:00.000-07:002013-07-04T13:22:17.678-07:00Derrick's General Assembly Recap - Part 5 - SATURDAY/SUNDAY (Days 4 & 5: Conversations, ByLaws, Jim Crow, and Astonishment)<a href="http://uumiami.blogspot.com/2013/06/derricks-general-assembly-recap-part-1.html" target="_blank">Part 1</a><br />
<a href="http://uumiami.blogspot.com/2013/06/derricks-general-assembly-recap-part-2.html" target="_blank">Part 2</a><br />
<a href="http://uumiami.blogspot.com/2013/06/derricks-general-assembly-recap-part-3.html" target="_blank">Part 3</a><br />
<a href="http://uumiami.blogspot.com/2013/07/derricks-general-assembly-recap-part-4.html" target="_blank">Part 4</a><br />
<br />
SATURDAY started off inauspiciously with me (and not Jeremy) being woken up several times in the 6:00 am hour by Jeremy's cell phone alarm. I tried putting the damn thing next to his head and he still wouldn't wake up. Eventually I decided since I was up anyway, I'd go to Morning Worship. It was alright, the content was interesting but overall I found it to be pretty uninspired. The best part was making quiet conversation with Greg and becoming Twitter buddies.<br />
<br />
After worship was Plenary, which included selection of potential Actions of Immediate Witness by voting to put 3 of the 6 proposed AIWs on the agenda, the Board of Trustees report and statements from the candidates for the Board, and debate and vote on bylaws amendments enabling regions.<br />
<br />
After Plenary, Jeremy, Raziq, Sarah, Erik, Lincoln, and I went to lunch at Smash Burger and ended up having the most fascinating conversation that started out being about whether or not the Seven Principles constitute a "creed" or "doctrine" and whether or not it's a positive thing if they do and whether or not the Seven Principles are necessary for all Unitarian Universalists. It ended up being about roughly a million other things but more importantly it ended up being about two amazing new friends and three deepened relationships. <br />
<br />
After lunch, Raziq, Jeremy, Erik, and I hung out in the Exhibit Hall and talked some more with Connie, who is a UUA Congregational Life Consultant, which was quite interesting. We also took a few minutes to vote in the elections while we were there. Sadly, our candidate of choice for UUA moderator fell 40 votes short but Jim Key is a great guy so I'm not too concerned.<br />
<br />
Later, I attended the workshop "Building the Movement to End the New Jim Crow" which actually lived up to its name more than I expected. There was a particularly good presentation from one UU minister who was leading efforts in his congregation to partner with grade schools in at-risk communities to keep the kids out of the school-to-prison pipeline that seems to be growing every day. Another initiative I really want to look into is the "Ban the Box" movement to get companies to stop forcing applicants to disclose that they're a former felon on their job application.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpwZrAiXlJ4rdtlMaOfD717AaTSJ5eoiGZV0yW6EcIs7xnLDLlqat2St7ouOWLt8W1sAb1waLadflxbizZwU37Qoi39YnSZOnW1Fd_0fY7hVwlXVV3sJn-CCinCqD5irhtXWNUciUoA7Kk/s1600/IMG_1947.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpwZrAiXlJ4rdtlMaOfD717AaTSJ5eoiGZV0yW6EcIs7xnLDLlqat2St7ouOWLt8W1sAb1waLadflxbizZwU37Qoi39YnSZOnW1Fd_0fY7hVwlXVV3sJn-CCinCqD5irhtXWNUciUoA7Kk/s400/IMG_1947.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
For dinner Saturday night, Jennifer Toth got a bunch of congregational leaders from Florida together at a fine restaurant called the Milkwood to network and exchange ideas and information on immigration issues and what folks are doing. I got a lot of interest from folks regarding CIVIC and the visitation program our congregation is setting up and Jeremy also brought up the issue of human trafficking and how it relates to immigration issues. We also discussed strategies for pressuring our respective representatives in the House to pass immigration reform. Very awesome dinner with some delicious food and amazing service to boot.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2dg3_fcLbmAt0N0UkzM_D3C5MoKY0bGMI7J4wRpMmHzJdwAUM1p-2QSG2O64lWpN1xlGeul2Lp54N6mq4BIMGyYt2nJuAhyphenhyphenXGSFlAvGuS5aeb8ohWqbYXEaQhXy9bvPfYm0IDUXWaYvJH/s1600/IMG_1949.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2dg3_fcLbmAt0N0UkzM_D3C5MoKY0bGMI7J4wRpMmHzJdwAUM1p-2QSG2O64lWpN1xlGeul2Lp54N6mq4BIMGyYt2nJuAhyphenhyphenXGSFlAvGuS5aeb8ohWqbYXEaQhXy9bvPfYm0IDUXWaYvJH/s400/IMG_1949.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
After dinner, I went to check out the Service of the Living Tradition for a few minutes but what I was there for wasn't really doing it for me so I decided to join a whole bunch of young adults at a table at BBC for more awesome conversation. After a few hours, I started getting sleepy so I wandered back to the hotel and basically passed out talking Israel/Palestine with Erik.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWk1LSnMnFdGzEVkGCf3cg5YUz1Y07eQLt5WIIya9wAkIrX8VWfoqSlLVjv3qq-aa5CVE9-XHOhNU7creOjPDGxWrFzEZgMFu91XHzp_vWGjF8DTGvpujE9JdcZh04u1CjDL7Keyq61I_i/s1600/IMG_1956.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWk1LSnMnFdGzEVkGCf3cg5YUz1Y07eQLt5WIIya9wAkIrX8VWfoqSlLVjv3qq-aa5CVE9-XHOhNU7creOjPDGxWrFzEZgMFu91XHzp_vWGjF8DTGvpujE9JdcZh04u1CjDL7Keyq61I_i/s320/IMG_1956.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
SUNDAY finally rolled around and it was time for the highly anticipated Sunday Morning Worship featuring a sermon from Rev. Dr. Bill Schulz, President and CEO of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee. The service was phenomenal, as expected, and Rev. Schulz made a rousing call to consider the vastness of the universe and the utter insignificance and incredible significance of our place in it.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8a5zNBTGxd-QaP1TZ5_GLc7PWT6odkj5Juh4NiBo_j0SSQ8eLPTMFtQ2DY4siFURu8hBwO8T_uQqf8YUJJmywxPRDx8AG5AJNNUCjBiQ_jcOT2elkTHF8UKU0dqN1TOwPxtfsoGbjW9Jf/s1600/IMG_1960.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8a5zNBTGxd-QaP1TZ5_GLc7PWT6odkj5Juh4NiBo_j0SSQ8eLPTMFtQ2DY4siFURu8hBwO8T_uQqf8YUJJmywxPRDx8AG5AJNNUCjBiQ_jcOT2elkTHF8UKU0dqN1TOwPxtfsoGbjW9Jf/s400/IMG_1960.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A going away present from the Youth to Gini Courter: "We (HEART) Gini. Thank You.<!--3--></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After that, most of the rest of the day was spent with Jeremy, Lincoln, Erik, and I discussing the virtues of revolution v. reform for hours. After that, we all slipped in for the end of the final Plenary so I could say my heartfelt and bittersweet goodbyes to everyone I could get my arms around and just like that, I was in a cab and off to Miami via Charlotte. <br />
<br />
I've always had a love/hate relationship with my home city but when I fly into Miami at night, it's hard to remember why I hate it--although stepping off the plane into 120% humidity usually does the trick. In the spirit of this temporary revelatory love of my city, I thought, since I've been sharing my stories of Heat Finals games, might as well close out the way I closed out my week...<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/q71/s720x720/943241_10101069804545098_147526351_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="477" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/q71/s720x720/943241_10101069804545098_147526351_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Burnie!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/q71/s720x720/988647_10101069805238708_306031019_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/q71/s720x720/988647_10101069805238708_306031019_n.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chris "Birdman" Anderson</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/q77/s720x720/1014335_10101069805862458_1423750674_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/q77/s720x720/1014335_10101069805862458_1423750674_n.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dwyane Wade</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/q73/s720x720/1010543_10101069806256668_337586533_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="476" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/q73/s720x720/1010543_10101069806256668_337586533_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">LeBron James</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />D-Rockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06225048516482634581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358045040923200762.post-50054164644454543322013-07-01T15:16:00.000-07:002013-07-04T13:19:35.901-07:00Derrick's General Assembly Recap - Part 4 - FRIDAY (Day 3: Statement of Conscience, 5th Principle, Eboo Patel, and SYNERGY!)<a href="http://uumiami.blogspot.com/2013/06/derricks-general-assembly-recap-part-1.html" target="_blank">Part 1</a><br />
<a href="http://uumiami.blogspot.com/2013/06/derricks-general-assembly-recap-part-2.html" target="_blank">Part 2</a><br />
<a href="http://uumiami.blogspot.com/2013/06/derricks-general-assembly-recap-part-3.html" target="_blank">Part 3</a><br />
<br />
Friday started with a very important Plenary session. After a litany of reports from various committees and commissions and statements from (mostly unopposed) candidates for office, the Assembly finally got down to the business of passing a landmark Statement of Conscience: "Immigration as a Moral Issue." The vote was quite swift, especially for something of this magnitude, and after incorporating a few small amendments, the 52nd General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations UNANIMOUSLY passed "Immigration as a Moral Issue."<br />
<br />
At UU Miami, we're already beginning to take action on the statement by partnering with community members to begin an immigration detention center visitation program at the nearby Krome Processing Center. "Friends of Miami-Dade Detainees" came out of a conference the UU Florida Southeast Cluster of congregations held on "Immigration and Mass Incarceration." We featured prominent South Florida speakers such as Executive Director of South Florida Interfaith Worker Justice, Jeannette Smith, and President of Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, Desmond Meade. We also had Christina Fialho, co-founder of Community Initiatives for Visiting Immigrants in Confinement (CIVIC), who not only came all the way from California to speak to us but actually came down the day before the conference and set up a tour of the Krome Processing Center to use as a sort of jumping off point for the visitation program. Since then she has been working with us and others in the community on starting "Friends of Miami-Dade Detainees" and the progress we've been making has been very promising (including the possibility of the opportunity to make a presentation for Rep. Joe Garcia at his office and hopefully get a letter of endorsement from his office!).<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/970215_10101043932018848_1543863615_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/970215_10101043932018848_1543863615_n.jpg" width="292" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(left to right) Jeanette Smith (SWIWJ), Christina Fialho (CIVIC)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
After Plenary, had a little lunch and then it was time for "The Fifth Principle Task Force: It's Time!" It was tough to skip out on several really cool-sounding workshops that were going on at the same time, but I knew how important this was. The Fifth Principle Task Force was convened in 2006 to examine General Assembly and how it measured up in terms of living our Fifth Principle by affirming and promoting the democratic process. As it turns out, General Assembly is not very democratic and not very representative either. <br />
<br />
The task force produced a 13 page report which it presented to the 2009 General Assembly. That report can be found <a href="http://www.uua.org/documents/boardtrustees/5thprinciple/0912_report.pdf" target="_blank">HERE</a> but the basic gist of it is that due to economic accessibility issues, less than 60% of UUA member congregations have been represented at GA in recent years and since 2001, the average delegate body of roughly 2,200 is less than 45% of all eligible delegates. There is also substantial evidence that many delegates "participate in GA business with little or no guidance from or sense of accountability to their home congregation."<br />
<br />
The workshop itself discussed several ideas and questions--such as the pros and cons of separating the "gathering" aspect of GA from the "governance" aspect, the pros and cons of moving more of our association's governance into cyberspace, and the idea of moving to some form of biennial assembly.<br />
<br />
The next thing on the agenda was a Plenary in which the delegates split up into smaller groups in separate rooms and used Twitter to help re-imagine GA and help the Fifth Principle Task Force collect ideas on how to improve it. Delegates were asked to answer the following three questions:<br />
<br />
1. If you could not attend General Assembly, describe the person from your congregation who ought to attend. Why?<br />
2. What do you love best about General Assembly?<br />
3. For the future of our faith, what is one thing General Assembly should stop doing?<br />
<br />
The tweets from these sessions can be found by searching Twitter for #newuuga. Or you can just <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23newuuga&src=typd" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>.<br />
<br />
I, however, had to skip out on this session--but don't worry, I had a very good reason. I was invited to a reception in UUA President Rev. Peter Morales's suite at the Marriott to take part in a conversation with Eboo Patel among Campus Ministry leaders within our faith. What an incredibly humbling and inspiring thing to be part of! Eboo Patel is an extraordinary young man with an incredible passion for hearing and telling stories and for finding our sacred common ground through interfaith work.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BOHi5xACMAEBusA.jpg:large" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BOHi5xACMAEBusA.jpg:large" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
After our conversation with Eboo, it was time for his Ware Lecture. For those who did not see it, it was really something, and I HIGHLY recommend going back and watching it on the UUA website. The video can be found <a href="http://uua.org/love/ga/287238.shtml" target="_blank">HERE</a>. One of the highlights (which we also discussed in our conversation beforehand) was when he said to us that we UUs do two things in terms of educating our youth on interfaith work--one of them we do very well and the other, not so much. We're very, very good at educating our young people about other religious and cultural traditions and fostering cultural competencies in them. However, we're really bad at teaching them how to connect those traditions back to their own faith tradition and how to articulate their own faith and their own culture to others. It is truly not to be missed.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuTB2FGjNfFi-Jvu-vuwx9dD5pAB2q6P9CS0OCnfcXLtahd5lVhCttIARu2mll4-FJMk5fiV0Bdc08UTZfxz7jBdFfyuXK_7yBWtgla-SY51EnJx8kanbbsuqyOx9aTioOxBGIENx0kTo9/s1600/IMG_1942.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuTB2FGjNfFi-Jvu-vuwx9dD5pAB2q6P9CS0OCnfcXLtahd5lVhCttIARu2mll4-FJMk5fiV0Bdc08UTZfxz7jBdFfyuXK_7yBWtgla-SY51EnJx8kanbbsuqyOx9aTioOxBGIENx0kTo9/s400/IMG_1942.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Sadly, an unfortunate incident followed the Ware Lecture. Immediately after Eboo Patel had finished his lecture, over 700 of the 2000 people in the Plenary Hall formed a huge line to get out the door right as the Synergy Bridging Worship was beginning. Many folks took to Twitter to either voice their frustration about this mass migration or to defend themselves for leaving early, leading to a lot of tension and hurt feelings and many a report to the GA Right Relationship Team. Many issues led to this problem: a scheduling faux pas, seemingly designed to keep people from leaving before Synergy, lack of childcare options later in the day, many folks complained of being too tired to stay up past 8:30pm, and the list goes on. At the end of the day, though, the Youth had an absolute blast, more people showed up for Synergy than usually do (over 1200), and the service was beautiful and inspiring. We're all so proud of all our amazing youth and we really must take every opportunity we possibly can to lift up the amazing things they do and are. All things considered, a beautiful end to a beautiful Friday...<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ8-8MpU8nUDml8wyK0e1NYoPvu5MmciSDaS_0u8QmJsHDSjmmkj5WdGYOjdb1a5CTambSOjILbc96hBKGTYej7p7jDSucOnANwQ_J3fgdLTT1nroImc-4dhsHbP0HRqDap4P8lS4zn_pG/s1600/IMG_1945.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ8-8MpU8nUDml8wyK0e1NYoPvu5MmciSDaS_0u8QmJsHDSjmmkj5WdGYOjdb1a5CTambSOjILbc96hBKGTYej7p7jDSucOnANwQ_J3fgdLTT1nroImc-4dhsHbP0HRqDap4P8lS4zn_pG/s400/IMG_1945.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bridging Youth line up! Ready to come of age!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="http://uumiami.blogspot.com/2013/07/derricks-general-assembly-recap-part-5.html" target="_blank">Part 5</a>D-Rockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06225048516482634581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358045040923200762.post-49314124539124972652013-06-30T15:02:00.000-07:002013-07-04T13:17:03.343-07:00Derrick's General Assembly Recap - Part 3 - THURSDAY (Day 2: Worship Arts, Compassionate Consumption, Motivating Members, Worship/Witness, and GAME 7)<a href="http://uumiami.blogspot.com/2013/06/derricks-general-assembly-recap-part-1.html" target="_blank">Part 1</a><br />
<a href="http://uumiami.blogspot.com/2013/06/derricks-general-assembly-recap-part-2.html" target="_blank">Part 2</a><br />
<br />
While Wednesday is obviously the official beginning of General Assembly, it's also more of a warm-up day as it begins at 1pm at the earliest and much later for most. Thursday is when the action really begins and for me it started off just right.<br />
<br />
First thing I did was head over to Panera with Erik and Jaime for some breakfast and then we all went to a workshop entitled "Six Words, One Image: A Worship Arts Immersion." While it wasn't exactly what I expected it to be and there was a point toward the beginning where it started to delve a little too much into essentially being a commercial for Starr King School for the Ministry, it turned out to be really, REALLY cool and actually really made me want to go to Starr King (at least for that moment in time).<br />
<br />
The reason they talked so much about SKSM was that "Six Words, One Image" is actually a highly condensed version of an intensive program offered by SKSM. The idea is to incorporate a daily spiritual creative practice into your life by combining six words with one image to tell a story. The origins of the idea go back to a scene of Ernest Hemingway drinking at a bar. Hemingway turned to the man next to him and said "I could write the perfect story in six words." The man obviously doubted the idea that any story could be told in six words. Hemingway responded: "For Sale: baby shoes. Never worn."<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn0.meme.li/instances/300x300/39263122.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn0.meme.li/instances/300x300/39263122.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Six Words, One Image</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The discussion then moved on to incorporating the arts into not only worship but congregational life. They talked about the importance of sensuality, of engaging all the senses much in the same way a filmmaker does--and how as folks grow older, they begin to move away from sensuality in favor of rationality (and how this phenomenon has roots in our Protestant and Puritan forbears). They also talked about being intentional about cultivating truly multivocal and truly multigenerational ministry. Lots of great ideas and inspiration; a perfect way to kick off GA.<br />
<br />
For lunch, Jeremy and I had a meeting with our Florida District Young Adult/Campus Ministry steering committee which was wonderful. It's great to be able to sit down with all those amazing folks and discuss all the exciting ideas we have for the committee, such as the possibility of a District YA conference in Orlando, a Regional YA conference in New Orleans, and the logistics of developing a model that will translate to the regional level so that we can begin planting committees similar to ours in other districts that eventually will be supported by Regional YACM steering committees.<br />
<br />
After lunch it was, befittingly, time for "Choose Compassionate Consumption: From Personal Choice to Collective Action." I took a few good notes about the UU Service Committee's "Choosing Compassionate Consumption" program and learned about some resources, but the most exciting part of this workshop for me was talking to Saru Jayaraman afterwards. I told her I would love to get her to come speak in Miami and she gave me her card and informed me that the restaurant workers organization she formed in 2001, the Restaurant Opportunities Center United (ROC), actually has an office in Miami. I also talked to Kara Smith of the UUSC and got a business card from her as well, which was really awesome. But last but certainly not least, I got Saru Jayaraman to sign my copy of "Behind the Kitchen Door" and got a picture taken with her:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpOMIf6LtpxsX1gLUXPnxanCvgZAS6nfXwgGA5EEAxGdCs0ghWwkg7Y0qX6Jr8OmRclG3tVYDlUbVRhKRaPQcUvc6FULk_MaAcYgZr4tZfZc0ShExFddQYc-d7R6tAITKhEtdq71mQNLSW/s1600/IMG_1882.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpOMIf6LtpxsX1gLUXPnxanCvgZAS6nfXwgGA5EEAxGdCs0ghWwkg7Y0qX6Jr8OmRclG3tVYDlUbVRhKRaPQcUvc6FULk_MaAcYgZr4tZfZc0ShExFddQYc-d7R6tAITKhEtdq71mQNLSW/s400/IMG_1882.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
After that, it was on to "Beyond Contentment: Motivating Members to Do More." If you know anything about UU congregations, I probably don't have to tell you how packed this workshop was. Easily over 100 people in the room, many of whom had to sit on the floor because there weren't enough chairs. There was just way, WAY too much great information in this workshop to discuss it all here but rest assured I will be sharing it with our congregation using a variety of avenues. For now, I'll just leave you with the final image in the slideshow from this workshop:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibVGqhWQqeykreQ7dn0N9ghokCJ7ojF2mRZD8pss7li7rKCIWqiIlU5R3j8g3BFfKTWK_9zMHJjSOZy0vCFzAouq7UigjxRklPu3ZUMl6hUMuNRshJCXeA90Myzhg2mSpJiO-QIRqnIYdm/s1600/IMG_1884.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibVGqhWQqeykreQ7dn0N9ghokCJ7ojF2mRZD8pss7li7rKCIWqiIlU5R3j8g3BFfKTWK_9zMHJjSOZy0vCFzAouq7UigjxRklPu3ZUMl6hUMuNRshJCXeA90Myzhg2mSpJiO-QIRqnIYdm/s400/IMG_1884.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
After the workshops for the day were through, it was time to worship and witness for climate justice. There were many amazing speakers at the worship service who discussed the evils of mountaintop removal and the open air storage of coal ash that reduces the life expectancy of folks in the low-income neighborhoods where the ash is stored by about 10 years on average. Mel Hoover gave an especially impassioned message and a plea to divest from fossil fuels (a position I immensely respect even if I don't entirely agree with it). The "stars" of the show, of course, were renowned poet and Unitarian Universalist Wendell Berry, who shared some of his amazing poetry on the subject of climate justice, and "Bidder 70" himself, Tim DeChristopher (who is studying to become a UU minister!).</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggqDtfANhfdlOmU93mKHvZuf62f56sLIdNG0I_k-5VScnBwe59q-mFzamNRYeqVzePAIVa1osLE2qKDohK_P1F_END52PGl8vLpiTtWLc3EjUETCir_WHO8Psu02cMdVLVbJkrgj3mSvh2/s1600/IMG_1892.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggqDtfANhfdlOmU93mKHvZuf62f56sLIdNG0I_k-5VScnBwe59q-mFzamNRYeqVzePAIVa1osLE2qKDohK_P1F_END52PGl8vLpiTtWLc3EjUETCir_WHO8Psu02cMdVLVbJkrgj3mSvh2/s320/IMG_1892.JPG" width="238" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixtgrSzN6Moe8xuY42dMIX7bYv76MWXSuYcYg5sQSrA1ZCnRqbn1ZiWRLGRJouHbfHvHwa9UXsFO2cCWidJYkDEhHO5_pI3tJfYUZXgctleTCSY2_-eWeNiQuwnV5tFy85dVQ_999vk9ew/s1600/IMG_1889.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixtgrSzN6Moe8xuY42dMIX7bYv76MWXSuYcYg5sQSrA1ZCnRqbn1ZiWRLGRJouHbfHvHwa9UXsFO2cCWidJYkDEhHO5_pI3tJfYUZXgctleTCSY2_-eWeNiQuwnV5tFy85dVQ_999vk9ew/s320/IMG_1889.JPG" width="238" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
After the worship, we marched to The Belvedere for the witness event where many more amazing folks spoke, including Wendell Berry and Tim DeChristopher once again as well as Mel Hoover. At one point, Jennifer Toth had me handing out vials of symbolic water symbolizing the waters of the Ohio River, which our witness event was looking out on and which marks the border between Kentucky and Indiana and is being polluted with more and more coal ash every day due to mountaintop removal.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
After the witness event, I eventually found my way back to the hotel room, threw my Dwyane Wade Marquette jersey on over my Standing on the Side of Love shirt (the jersey is navy blue with yellow trim so it was a perfect combination!) and headed over to the Jockey Silks bar at the Galt House to watch the Heat game with Jennifer and UU Miami's own Chris Kirchner, as well as Terry and Mark from Miami/Ames, IA. Unless you've been living under a rock, if you live in Miami, you know how the Finals turned out, so I'll just let the photos I took of the TV broadcast of the game speak for themselves...</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwRdnS4FbXbJvbVYkoNUxXSFRiZAgK6dNCp1b5FWwTcYDqredh_9dkPZQ_9eIxtAGPFtSfEa6X1TQ4aiU7jln7GFINmPxwZLKkEDeFhQ8L4D3LdGYFqzqWru7ntAPz8JY8WbT5C-ICSfaU/s1600/IMG_1905.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwRdnS4FbXbJvbVYkoNUxXSFRiZAgK6dNCp1b5FWwTcYDqredh_9dkPZQ_9eIxtAGPFtSfEa6X1TQ4aiU7jln7GFINmPxwZLKkEDeFhQ8L4D3LdGYFqzqWru7ntAPz8JY8WbT5C-ICSfaU/s400/IMG_1905.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">JOY</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnbrr4IF0taC8EVdhjZA51R36cqU08qT8Zr8QwEC5Ufbe3ksRW6X0e0CkoWlJYSTn-ObGm1G7rDyKPf6eoWw0XKvrSUZ9CS1IjWJdFLN50EybguMOuf6bOLRa4oW-sgPkaZRORUGXMBeEO/s1600/IMG_1910.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnbrr4IF0taC8EVdhjZA51R36cqU08qT8Zr8QwEC5Ufbe3ksRW6X0e0CkoWlJYSTn-ObGm1G7rDyKPf6eoWw0XKvrSUZ9CS1IjWJdFLN50EybguMOuf6bOLRa4oW-sgPkaZRORUGXMBeEO/s400/IMG_1910.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">FAMILY</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDyNxFgpev9C0GEIppSmYhkprSoc_SQHDCYkGKttmlYr6x5Fg_mx-wu9DgYupkGJwcqZ5k_qUfM1AxG6JAVRK647ssbBXmvCKBn8Z9e8EUxJSYSxCzflN1G9WADL_pfdB6y6HUT_zf0P1N/s1600/IMG_1917.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDyNxFgpev9C0GEIppSmYhkprSoc_SQHDCYkGKttmlYr6x5Fg_mx-wu9DgYupkGJwcqZ5k_qUfM1AxG6JAVRK647ssbBXmvCKBn8Z9e8EUxJSYSxCzflN1G9WADL_pfdB6y6HUT_zf0P1N/s400/IMG_1917.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">VICTORY</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://uumiami.blogspot.com/2013/07/derricks-general-assembly-recap-part-4.html" target="_blank">Part 4</a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://uumiami.blogspot.com/2013/07/derricks-general-assembly-recap-part-5.html" target="_blank">Part 5</a></div>
D-Rockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06225048516482634581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358045040923200762.post-42113977969436643812013-06-29T12:03:00.002-07:002013-07-04T13:14:14.765-07:00Derrick's General Assembly Recap - Part 2 - WEDNESDAY (Day 1: Roots, Wings, Banners, and Humility)<a href="http://uumiami.blogspot.com/2013/06/derricks-general-assembly-recap-part-1.html" target="_blank">Part 1</a><br />
<br />
<div>
Finally, the big day had arrived. I spent most of the morning watching highlights of Game 6 on ESPN in the hotel room but around midday it was time for Young Adult Orientation. It's always such a pleasure hanging with the YAs and especially hearing from the amazing YA leaders within our faith. These folks are not the future--they are the present. They're not standing around waiting for the establishment to hand them the reigns of Unitarian Universalism or pass the torch or whatever other idiom one might use. They are asserting their voices within our faith, voices of progressive change screaming to be heard by ears weathered by years of polity and justice work. The conversations, connections, and community I share each year at GA with these folks are, truly, the Roots that hold me close and the Wings that set me free. More on that later.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8bPBON5HvhkxPqQ72-cExAEM-7nBBCOI8uXie4oa1lQb-dYAgAkl-LSC29T5TdeU2Wopk-FvLZbfdrfrvXyOCvYDU6MNOwFWZXtvInkB666EgU0oaHqOns8zQPyTsVfbkS0p7yJXBa1ye/s1600/General+Assembly+2013+002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8bPBON5HvhkxPqQ72-cExAEM-7nBBCOI8uXie4oa1lQb-dYAgAkl-LSC29T5TdeU2Wopk-FvLZbfdrfrvXyOCvYDU6MNOwFWZXtvInkB666EgU0oaHqOns8zQPyTsVfbkS0p7yJXBa1ye/s320/General+Assembly+2013+002.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhotG7J2EBCu_zGH-di7euhi4lagjLcv-cIAyejp2Lqgp7JdC8U6pUfI7Feh4NIsTQsS3XRPLqLkJNDpjzXGpL9-FlRlPdjfaMQksJzgcxEUPtXMlXXCgi9FBhBrMLVSHnJZnhEPpd6nYhI/s1600/General+Assembly+2013+011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhotG7J2EBCu_zGH-di7euhi4lagjLcv-cIAyejp2Lqgp7JdC8U6pUfI7Feh4NIsTQsS3XRPLqLkJNDpjzXGpL9-FlRlPdjfaMQksJzgcxEUPtXMlXXCgi9FBhBrMLVSHnJZnhEPpd6nYhI/s320/General+Assembly+2013+011.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhotG7J2EBCu_zGH-di7euhi4lagjLcv-cIAyejp2Lqgp7JdC8U6pUfI7Feh4NIsTQsS3XRPLqLkJNDpjzXGpL9-FlRlPdjfaMQksJzgcxEUPtXMlXXCgi9FBhBrMLVSHnJZnhEPpd6nYhI/s1600/General+Assembly+2013+011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
One of the most interesting things about the YA Caucus room was this awesomely creative art project the staff put together. At Orientation, they passed out brown strips of paper and markers for folks to draw a visual representation of the congregation they're from and write a sentence about what has brought them to General Assembly this year or what present commitments they have made to our faith community. The bark represented the present, the roots, the past, and the leaves, the future. Three specific questions were asked for each:</div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3p_e8lZnXbPOyWK5mMrOzuW7CskKXotBhFHJ5yZJxXUaRZDySgu8wCT-uOgny4ZTilHj-srV429gEyZwvvJFwBq_sbdgB6KMhLgogH0MKVY7NLdqzTJBe3OEror6TF_Q7DazKW9uRmhvj/s1600/General+Assembly+2013+003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3p_e8lZnXbPOyWK5mMrOzuW7CskKXotBhFHJ5yZJxXUaRZDySgu8wCT-uOgny4ZTilHj-srV429gEyZwvvJFwBq_sbdgB6KMhLgogH0MKVY7NLdqzTJBe3OEror6TF_Q7DazKW9uRmhvj/s200/General+Assembly+2013+003.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiczGqAXE2cHGurN2vs2Qlh_WtCXY8l4iOJdU6vUKkVDf8684NfAgY73cFetCTRq-aXhexCkQyk-w21raKr7GpWthrvT_KYLQuHdtUhOpNOtBHKN7gt68MPIWDoFwci46OQ_5vNa2Ej1FgT/s1600/General+Assembly+2013+005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiczGqAXE2cHGurN2vs2Qlh_WtCXY8l4iOJdU6vUKkVDf8684NfAgY73cFetCTRq-aXhexCkQyk-w21raKr7GpWthrvT_KYLQuHdtUhOpNOtBHKN7gt68MPIWDoFwci46OQ_5vNa2Ej1FgT/s200/General+Assembly+2013+005.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEin06yLPVJZC2iY2LKhJ2_BoNPTrH4iazFi31YVtxQ7C1pm1C8LSJZrZBnOlfDCyUikFv6jMQtKYLu8OM91qLuK1Vn89o25aRcRJBFE92Gp2jinLOk75NSj-2iQwFxj1ZjuLQSJ-MmkFa/s1600/General+Assembly+2013+004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEin06yLPVJZC2iY2LKhJ2_BoNPTrH4iazFi31YVtxQ7C1pm1C8LSJZrZBnOlfDCyUikFv6jMQtKYLu8OM91qLuK1Vn89o25aRcRJBFE92Gp2jinLOk75NSj-2iQwFxj1ZjuLQSJ-MmkFa/s200/General+Assembly+2013+004.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
From Left to Right:</div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
"What <b><i>roots </i></b>do you have with Unitarian Universalism, or with another faith community?"</div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
"What <b><i>present commitments</i></b> have you made to our faith community?"</div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
"What <b><i>aspirations </i></b>do you have for yourself as a UU and for our larger faith community?"</div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
After YA Orientation, I wandered the exhibit hall with Erik and Jessica (whom everyone else had met the night before while I was screaming at a television set--OK, just kidding, I actually did partake in some conversation at halftime and after the game). We chit-chatted with a few nice folks, especially the folks at the UUA Youth and Young Adult Offices booth.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9_6boTi0CbIEpgy7VtBV-uoSPLV6lLXwIPC2yt000XhQ5IbtOtGcyuEhRTRR0DQIrbJKuY8XHFDMNbHf1rF2RUB3-f0iJKjIkRQ6XxOXPu_ClSbkqCt_5kSBgJJrVerwwIidahbCLKQZq/s1600/General+Assembly+2013+009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9_6boTi0CbIEpgy7VtBV-uoSPLV6lLXwIPC2yt000XhQ5IbtOtGcyuEhRTRR0DQIrbJKuY8XHFDMNbHf1rF2RUB3-f0iJKjIkRQ6XxOXPu_ClSbkqCt_5kSBgJJrVerwwIidahbCLKQZq/s320/General+Assembly+2013+009.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Before long, it was time for the Banner Parade. My most sincere apologies to my fellow congregants of UU Miami for forgetting to bring our UU Miami banner with me to Louisville. However, I was very grateful to be invited by UUA Campus Ministry Associate Kayla Parker to help carry the Campus Ministry banner along with Jeremy and herself. It was the first in a long line of very humbling (in a good way) experiences for me at General Assembly 2013.</div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqhdNOuiA73j5Q0vsCfBPcd9_UVudfr8_F7swS_6BxQWeJEVUeLPQvFsf1PuWoJUNVP4VDP13kXWcAYf5RcatGhgCgDIF8WO48_wUm5DZEAhU6sN3O3947g4RKMWnzRXVRybzGnYy-rXFz/s640/IMG_1874.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqhdNOuiA73j5Q0vsCfBPcd9_UVudfr8_F7swS_6BxQWeJEVUeLPQvFsf1PuWoJUNVP4VDP13kXWcAYf5RcatGhgCgDIF8WO48_wUm5DZEAhU6sN3O3947g4RKMWnzRXVRybzGnYy-rXFz/s320/IMG_1874.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Left to Right: Jeremy, Kayla, and me</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
After an awesome banner parade and a rousing Opening Celebration came one of the MOST humbling moments of the week: I was invited by UUA Florida District Board President (and über sweetheart) Ila Klion to attend UUA Moderator Gini Courter's reception at the Marriott. Wow. Imagine just about every mover and shaker in Unitarian Universalism in one room sharing cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, and conversation. What an amazing experience. I had a lengthy discussion with Rev. Darrick Jackson, Director of Contextual Ministry at Meadville Lombard Theological School on why he felt Meadville was the right place for me to pursue the ministry--and also had a similar conversation with Justine Urbikas, Meadville's Assistant Director for Recruitment and Communications. I also had a really awesome conversation with Standing on the Side of Love campaign manager Jennifer Toth that started out being about Immigration issues, then transitioned to being about Florida, and ended up with us making plans to meet up the next night with some other Miami folks to watch Game 7 of the NBA Finals!</div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
All that would have been the perfect end to a perfect first day of GA but just for the icing on the cake, a bunch of us went down the street and hung out at a bar called BBC with a handful of awesome YAs for some slightly intoxicated small group ministry (i.e. a bunch of awesome drunk conversations!). But the night still didn't end there because I went back to the hotel room a little early and Erik and Jamie (our other roommate for the week) were still up watching "Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman" and having some deep discussion about the universe. We all continued to theorize and philosophize about the vastness of the universe and our place in it and time travel and all sorts of other craziness until we could barely keep our eyes open anymore and then it was finally time for bed...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://uumiami.blogspot.com/2013/06/derricks-general-assembly-recap-part-3.html" target="_blank">Part 3</a><br />
<a href="http://uumiami.blogspot.com/2013/07/derricks-general-assembly-recap-part-4.html" target="_blank">Part 4</a><br />
<a href="http://uumiami.blogspot.com/2013/07/derricks-general-assembly-recap-part-5.html" target="_blank">Part 5</a></div>
D-Rockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06225048516482634581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358045040923200762.post-28460150629866554292013-06-27T13:51:00.001-07:002013-07-04T13:11:42.945-07:00Derrick's General Assembly Recap - Part 1 - The Road to GASUNDAY<br />
<br />
Here we were again. The moment I had been waiting for all year had finally arrived. General Assembly 2013 in Louisville, Kentucky. My good friend Jeremy Ritzmann and I had been texting back and forth for weeks about how we could barely contain our excitement. His wife Sarah even posted on Facebook that she was cleaning their apartment in preparation for me coming because every time I come it's a blessing which truly warmed my heart.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/384575_2681431551809_1637313228_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/384575_2681431551809_1637313228_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jeremy and Sarah with their son Judah</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I must have spent the better part of Friday and Saturday before I left figuring out everything I would need and packing it into one suitcase and one backpack--this included a small selection of comic books, a copy of "Behind the Kitchen Door" to have Saru Jayaraman sign, a copy of Robert's Rules (because you never know when it's gonna come up), and a multi-colored array of UU t-shirts.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2GC01fzt0j9YWsQLOzYSgHz4hwqoy98Ojtz_PKTTbAHJUnrFq7OdmdspuLnR5kBLazYABhgIG4oknrEdbuiN4rCAAA_UKOSR3hKY0_-QbMI2d1YfSyjDPqLtnHUZex7kZqdqOsJj5dHXX/s1600/IMG_1849.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2GC01fzt0j9YWsQLOzYSgHz4hwqoy98Ojtz_PKTTbAHJUnrFq7OdmdspuLnR5kBLazYABhgIG4oknrEdbuiN4rCAAA_UKOSR3hKY0_-QbMI2d1YfSyjDPqLtnHUZex7kZqdqOsJj5dHXX/s320/IMG_1849.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flying in to Jacksonville is so beautiful</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I took a plane I could barely stand up straight in to Jacksonville and Jeremy was waiting for me at the terminal when I arrived. We hugged a great, big hug that was a far-too-long time coming and then set off for Jeremy's apartment. On the way there, we stopped at a flea market outside of town and I bought a few more comic books.<br />
<br />
Spent the afternoon chilling with Jeremy and Sarah and their two-year-old son Judah (who is just about the smartest, coolest kid on the planet) and then later we went over to Sarah's grandparents' house to have dinner with her family. Sarah's grandmother is a sixth generation Universalist and her mother is a very active member of their congregation (Buckman Bridge Unitarian Universalist Church) so that definitely made for an interesting and pleasant dinner.<br />
<br />
After dinner, we started watching Game 5 of the NBA Finals between the Heat and the Spurs which was a fairly depressing spectacle to behold but didn't put too much of a damper on my evening. Went back to the apartment and fell asleep watching the season premiere of True Blood with Jeremy and Sarah. Having never seen True Blood, I was a bit confused but mostly just wildly entertained by how cheesy it was. But I digress.<br />
<br />
MONDAY<br />
<br />
Not much of note happened Monday. More chilling with Jeremy and Sarah at the apartment and making preparations for the trip to Louisville. Spent about an hour at the pool, which was nice. Other than that, nothing particularly interesting happened until about 11:30pm when we finally raised anchor and set sail for Louisville with our good friend Erik Slader.<br />
<br />
TUESDAY<br />
<br />
The ride to Louisville was long (and the road was muddy and rough...OK not really...) and full of sleep. Well, at least for me and Erik. Jeremy stayed up all the way through the night, hopped up on Starbucks Doubleshots and Iced Coffee to drive the entire 13 hour drive. We stopped in southern Georgia for Waffle House at about 3am for "breakfast" I guess you would call it (it certainly contained all the elements of breakfast anyway) and in Atlanta at 6am to have coffee at Starbucks with Tim Atkins of the UU Congregation of Atlanta but otherwise we pushed onward all through the night.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibAnmizJfTsUsSPORgd_V_t0zoXyK4Sj4WvB8GYw5lAJFx_OkIYsqAKMTz-cSkAUaTuIAeReS4EHehiW6XhyphenhyphenaJfq4J158hIWlZdxbz0lhMEuJeCdaWP46EVHPuL3WAIsDIf6Fp6obxfnNJ/s1600/IMG_1852.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibAnmizJfTsUsSPORgd_V_t0zoXyK4Sj4WvB8GYw5lAJFx_OkIYsqAKMTz-cSkAUaTuIAeReS4EHehiW6XhyphenhyphenaJfq4J158hIWlZdxbz0lhMEuJeCdaWP46EVHPuL3WAIsDIf6Fp6obxfnNJ/s320/IMG_1852.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Smokies!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I woke up eventually to daylight and the Smoky Mountains. I basically slept my way through Georgia almost entirely and now we were in Tennessee snaking through gorgeous mountain ranges shrouded by low-hanging clouds. It had been much, MUCH too long since I had seen mountains so I snapped a handful of digital photos along the way.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxT60kmcPcFTSZUC9KrNQTBdiIXjdC47RZnHOXY1tfc4-Y9DlQwEOz3MPQA4MsnSlgcxZzps5PmqQKXGumdgMckmElsVFBjc187S0B9fA81hBt6-KXjiSw5V1El1XSXf7aTBsAIKpxEqR6/s1600/IMG_1853.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxT60kmcPcFTSZUC9KrNQTBdiIXjdC47RZnHOXY1tfc4-Y9DlQwEOz3MPQA4MsnSlgcxZzps5PmqQKXGumdgMckmElsVFBjc187S0B9fA81hBt6-KXjiSw5V1El1XSXf7aTBsAIKpxEqR6/s320/IMG_1853.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Finally, we made our way into Louisville and checked into our amazing two room suite at the Galt House just two blocks from the convention center. After registering early to beat the crowds, we headed over to "Fourth Street Live" which is basically a whole block of bars, clubs, and restaurants where locals go to party. We found a really cool Irish Pub called Ri Ra and found out we could reserve a room in the back for later to watch Game 6 of the Finals.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMbMUWw4X6sdYc6yxZoQgd5i4v3Ip7NuXLhrtADrpLb0fYBV7dGti9ns_i3IerDME6kCZ9vcbVN7-VoEzwfld3T2CJbd6MTGe9t62kdGlewF2tDLV_m9dpBacVW_XUDRp8VafajFZS0zay/s1600/IMG_1859.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMbMUWw4X6sdYc6yxZoQgd5i4v3Ip7NuXLhrtADrpLb0fYBV7dGti9ns_i3IerDME6kCZ9vcbVN7-VoEzwfld3T2CJbd6MTGe9t62kdGlewF2tDLV_m9dpBacVW_XUDRp8VafajFZS0zay/s320/IMG_1859.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5vZslrT9hGzRDMi1QX2lXWzi9-uh7t6b2A1IBL7Yq4w3P6osaPNdFskaNjcU2_mfVwCrK0PFzbbApSyxytBZ8VNYGsEeYJG5vLKkcQMN2QjCT7uAubVJYFXYhJv7Kxnft2IcpJ54ZzEqc/s1600/IMG_1860.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5vZslrT9hGzRDMi1QX2lXWzi9-uh7t6b2A1IBL7Yq4w3P6osaPNdFskaNjcU2_mfVwCrK0PFzbbApSyxytBZ8VNYGsEeYJG5vLKkcQMN2QjCT7uAubVJYFXYhJv7Kxnft2IcpJ54ZzEqc/s320/IMG_1860.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yeah, this was awesome...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
We returned to Ri Ra at 9pm and while everyone else actually interacted with each other like social beings, I was glued to the flat screen TV and the rollercoaster ride of Game 6. Not to digress too far from my point but I just have to say that I have been watching basketball for over 20 years and that was the single greatest basketball game I have ever seen in my life. When Ray Allen hit that three, I literally ran around screaming like a maniac. I still can't process the fact that that actually happened. My GA was |this| close to being totally ruined (OK, not really, but hyperbole is necessary in this case). Then a miracle happened in Miami. And the next morning I was more ready than ever to begin my General Assembly experience...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/tr6XsZVb-ZE?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://uumiami.blogspot.com/2013/06/derricks-general-assembly-recap-part-2.html" target="_blank">Part 2</a><br />
<a href="http://uumiami.blogspot.com/2013/06/derricks-general-assembly-recap-part-3.html" target="_blank">Part 3</a><br />
<a href="http://uumiami.blogspot.com/2013/07/derricks-general-assembly-recap-part-4.html" target="_blank">Part 4</a><br />
<a href="http://uumiami.blogspot.com/2013/07/derricks-general-assembly-recap-part-5.html" target="_blank">Part 5</a>D-Rockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06225048516482634581noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358045040923200762.post-1566602619542996172013-05-28T16:18:00.000-07:002013-05-28T16:18:53.056-07:00Derrick's Tentative GA Schedule<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In case anyone is interested, this is where I PLAN on being and when. I stress the word "plan" because the best laid plans for GA can easily crumble into dust in mere hours but that's the beauty of GA...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://img.uua.org/ga2013/2013.pdf"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">CLICK HERE FOR THE COMPLETE PROGRAM GUIDE!</span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u>WEDNESDAY</u></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-7f23eb43-ed18-dc47-b6e8-ede47ab4dfbe" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>1:00 - 2:30pm</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> -- Young Adult Orientation</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>2:45 - 4:00pm</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> -- GA Orientation</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>5:45 - 6:45pm</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> -- Southern Regional Welcoming</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>5:30 - 7:45pm</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> -- Banner Parade Registration/Line-Up</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>8:00 - 10:00pm</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> -- Opening Celebration and Plenary I</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>10:30 - 11:30pm</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> -- Young Adult Worship</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u>THURSDAY</u></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>7:45 - 8:45am</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> -- Thursday Morning Worship (Rev. Wendy von Zirpolo)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>8:45 - 10:15am</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> -- Plenary II</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>10:45am-12:00pm</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> --</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-Six Words, One Image: A Worship Arts Immersion</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-Covenant. Covenant? Covenant!</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-Road From Phoenix: Building On Justice General Assembly</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>-Rev. Peter Morales</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>-Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-What Young Adults Look For In a Congregation</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-Inside & Out: Congregations and Beyond</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>1:45 - 3:00pm</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> --</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-Choose Compassionate Consumption</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-Civil Disobedience: It Takes a Team</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-Put Your Money Where Your Covenant Is!</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>3:30 - 4:45pm</b> --</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-Beyond Contentment: Motivating Members to Do More</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-Queer, Transgender, Bisexual, Gay, and Lesbian Youth Ministry</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>5:15 - 5:45pm</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> -- Plenary III</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>5:45 - 6:15pm</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> -- Thursday Evening Worship</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>6:15 - 7:30pm</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> -- Where Is Our Energy? (Witness)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>8:30 - 10:00pm</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> -- Candidates Forum</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>10:30 - 11:30pm</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> -- Youth Worship</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u>FRIDAY</u></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>7:45 - 8:45am</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> -- Friday Morning Worship: Broken Vows, Whole Lives</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>8:45am - 12:00pm</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> -- Plenary IV</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>12:45 - 1:30pm</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> -- Reflection Groups</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>1:45pm-3:00pm</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> --</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-Plant and Grow a Campus Ministry</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-The Fifth Principle Task Force, It’s Time</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-Occupy Your Faith!</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-Cheap Eats. Just Eats.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-Young Adult Caucus II</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>-Eboo Patel</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>3:30 - 6:00pm</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> -- Plenary V</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>7:30 - 8:30pm</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> -- Ware Lecture: Eboo Patel</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>8:30 - 10:00pm</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> -- Synergy: Building a Bridge to the Future</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>10:15 - 11:15pm</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> -- Post-Bridging Celebration</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u>SATURDAY</u></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>7:45 - 8:45am</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> -- Saturday Morning Worship: In Global Covenant</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>8:45am - 12:00pm</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - Plenary VI</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>10:30am - 4:00pm</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - POLLS ARE OPEN (Elections)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>12:45 - 1:30pm</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - Reflection Groups</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>1:45pm-3:00pm</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> --</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-Are You Considering the Ministry?</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-Carry the Flame: Congregations and Beyond</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-The Teachable Heart: Lay Leadership Formation</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-Gathered Here: Giving Life to Our Faith</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>3:30 - 5:00pm</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> -- Plenary VII</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>5:30 - 6:45pm</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> --</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-Building the Movement to End the New Jim Crow</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-Young Adult Caucus IV: Elections</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">-Building Beloved Community In New and Exciting Ways</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-Taking Action on the Doctrine of Discovery Resolution</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>7:00 - 8:00pm</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> -- New Jim Crow Organizing Meeting</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>8:30 - 10:00pm</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - Service of the Living Tradition</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>10:30 - 11:30pm</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - Young Adult Worship</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u>SUNDAY</u></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>7:45 - 8:30am</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> -- Youth and Young Adult Worship: Circle of Faith</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>9:00 - 10:30am</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> -- Sunday Morning Worship</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>10:30am - 2:00pm</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> -- Banner Retrieval</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>11:00am - 12:00pm</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> -- Plenary VIII</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>12:45 - 1:30pm</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> -- Reflection Groups</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>1:45 - 6:00pm</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> -- Plenary IX</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 21px; white-space: pre-wrap;">(I will sadly be missing the Closing Celebration because my flight is at 7:39)</span></div>
D-Rockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06225048516482634581noreply@blogger.com0