2007 UUA General Assembly
June 20-24 in Portland, Oregon

Choices That Matter

This June, members of Unitarian Universalist congregations will gather in one strong body, to share our passions and turn those passions into priorities.  The 46^th Annual General Assembly will be held in Portland, WA. 

 

It’s rare to have the annual GA (General Assembly) located so close to Saltwater Church. Take advantage of it; make an effort to go down for a day, for the weekend, or for the full event (Wednesday – Sunday).

• Make it affordable

• Current fundraisers

• Why go to GA?

• For children and youth

• General GA Information

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Register for housing now to get the best prices

• For hotels and dorm rooms: see the UUA GA site

• The GA Committee has contracted with local hotels to get the best rates (several @$110 to $120/ night.

• Dorm rooms can be reserved for $225 for all 5 nights—great deal if you plan to attend for the full session.

• For UU Bed & Breakfast Accommodations: see Pacific Northwest District website

Sign up to volunteer now: if you’re accepted, your registration fee is waived

• You need to volunteer for 24 hours (or 16 hours in the children’s program) for registration fee to be waived

• Deadline for volunteer applications: March 31, but they anticipate a large number of volunteers, so act soon. Mail or fax application to address at the top of the application form.

Share a ride

• Train

  • Every day, 4 trains run between Seattle and Portland

  • Cost: $22 to $25 each way

  • If you get a Chinook Book ($20) you can buy one ticket, get one free on the Amtrak Cascades (the most frequent train to Portland).

• Bus

  • Chartered buses will leave from selected Seattle/Tacoma churches directly to GA. Join the fun! E-mail or call Toska Rodriguez if you are interested.

 

 

We’ve raised $1500 so far to send youth and their sponsors to GA. Please help us support others who want to attend GA; participate in the fundraisers as they occur.

 

Chinook Books

We’re selling these books for $20 each. They support sustainable businesses, and we keep $8 of the sale price. If you buy a book, you can use one of the coupons to purchase a second train ticket to GA (worth $44). More than pays for itself with one coupon.

 

 

Help shape the mission of our Association to determine our direction for this century.

This year, UUs will engage in a large-scale celebration and practice of democracy

We will practice democracy using a new tool called Open Space Technology

Our use of Open Space is groundbreaking.

What is GA?

General Assembly is the annual meeting of the Unitarian Universalist Association. It includes:

• open business meetings in which delegates speak and vote (this is called Plenary);
• workshops that any registered attendee may attend (this year, using Open Space Technology);
• worship services: throughout the days and nights, with one huge worship service as a closing on Sunday afternoon;
• a large exhibit hall with displays from congregations, departments of the UUA, and other UU or UU-related organizations;
• and tons of other great events, meetings and fun programs!

Thousands of UU children, youth and adults, gather at GA and take the city over for a week. It has a contingent of youth, but it is not a youth con. It has programming for children, but it is not a children’s program. It is all of us, gathered together, to share our wisdom and shape the future.

For youth, GA can be a life-changing event.

It’s inspirational, for anyone at any age, to see yourself as part of a movement that is making a difference in the world. The Youth Caucus covers youth programming at GA (and “youth” is defined as 14 to 17 years of age). For more information, see the YRUU website.

 

For children, there are several options:

• Ages 6 months – 5 years: onsite child care for $25/day
• Ages 6-10: Day camp is provided on site for $25/day
• Ages 8 –14: Overnight camp is provided off site, with field trips; Tuesday or Wednesday through Monday. $500 first child in family, $450 every child after that.

 

Children under the age of 14 years old may attend GA with parents. If they do not attend the children’s program, there is no registration fee.

 

For more information and to register, see the GA website

• A registration fee for the children’s program is waived if a parent volunteers.
• Deadline for registration is April 30.
• See the website for more details.

 

 

Conference location

• Meetings will be held in the Oregon Convention Center,
  777 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd, Portland OR 97232.
• Portland, Oregon
  Find information about Portland.

 

Registration

Registration is now open. Costs range from $100/day to $285 for the full event, if you register by April 30. Fees increase after that.

 

Program

Featured presentations include:

• Pentagon Papers: Then and Now: UUs confronting government secrecy
• First Freedom First
• Ben Cohen’s Peace Priorities
• A Conversation on Race and Class
• Amazing Grace: a Vocabulary of  Faith

 

For more detail on these speakers, open space technology, the closing worship service, and the other activities at GA, see the GA website.