chrysanthemum

I'm having to spend much more time on work than I anticipated, so blogging in detail isn't going to happen. But a few notes from the heres and theres:

From the workshop on the plans for GA 2012 -- worship will be a very important component. Organizers are intent on "a slower pace" to accommodate need to reflect as people train for and perform acts of witness/community service such as citizenship registration, etc. (as compared to many GAs where people mainline workshops/plenaries/performances/etc. and don't get around to processing it all until they get home).

(UUWorld report here; UUWorld report on the Friday Board Q&A here)

"Changing the World: What Works and What Doesn't" -- sponsored by Meadville Lombard; main speech by Bill Schulz (candid, funny, and thought-provoking); response by Sharon Welch, followed by counter-response by Schulz. Q&A session included an exchange about Thomas Jefferson and a passionate testimonial from a woman stating that so many more would be dead from AIDS had it not been for ACT-UP raising hell. Books recommended by Schulz included Kwame Appiah's The Honor Code and Tina Rosenberg's Join the Club: How Peer Pressure Can Change the World.

At the Service of the Living Tradition: our intern minister receiving preliminary fellowship. Great music from the ministers/UUMN choir and the contemporary musicians from Silver Spring. Singing "For All the Saints." Kickass sermon by Michael Schuler on ministry and types of authority; hilarious reading of Clinton Lee Scott's "A Parable for Parish Committees."

When the rain started to fall at the Standing on the Side of Love rally, a woman to my right openly grinned: "I'm from Arizona! This feels WONDERFUL!"

Chatting with other members of my church about what they'd seen, heard, and voted on (and what they're taking back to Nashville, both in the way of souvenirs and plans...).

Happened on a farmstand in front of the Bank of America mall. I now have fresh blueberries and tomatoes (and a bag of "Last Night's Bagels" from the Bruegger's at Epicentre) for breakfast...

The Green across from the convention center. Awe. Some.

From UUA GA 2011 (and exploring Charlotte)