Vote on GA Issues at the February 8 Meeting

General Assembly (GA) is coming to Long Beach in June and it is time to startpreparing for the big event. As in years past, February is the month for usto review Unitarian Universalist Study/Action Issues, Actions of immediate Witness,and proposed Statements of Conscience that will be voted on at GA. So mark yourcalendars for Sunday, February 8, at 12:45 p.m. This is the date for our annualFaith in Action town hall meeting in the sanctuary to review these issues. Thiscolumn summarizes what we hope to accomplish at this town hall meeting.

First, we will review a short list of proposed Study/Action Issues to be consideredat General Assembly in June. The finallist, determined late in January, will be presented at the town hall meeting.Our job will be to prioritize these issues for our congregational delegation.Our delegates will participate in a debate and vote at GA leading to the selectionof one new Study/Action Issue to be used nationally between 2004 and 2006.

Our second task will be to review the draft Statement of Conscience on CivilLiberties that arose out of GA in June 2004. This is the Study/Action Issuewe discussed last year. It is now in the pipeline as the next official Statementof Conscience for the UUA. We’ll review the draft to educate ourselvesand to provide guidance to our congregational delegates when they vote in Juneto accept or reject the final document.

Our third task involves a review of the current Study/Action Issue on PrisonReform that is being pursued nationwide. We will decide whether or not to becomeinvolved in this Study/Action Issue.

Our final task will be to inform ourselves about the newest official UUA Statementof Conscience on Economic Globalization and the five new Actions of ImmediateWitness that were officially endorsed at General Assembly in Boston inJune 2004. These Actions of Immediate Witness include (1) AmeriCorps, (2) depleteduranium munitions, (3) global HIV/AIDS, (4) public hearings on Iraq, and (5)women’s rights. Since this is not an official business meeting of thechurch, all votes are non-binding. Although no homework or advance preparationis required, participants are encouraged to check the UUA Commission on SocialWitness website at www.uua.org/csw/soc2004.html. What we really want is yourhelp in prioritizing these worthwhile issues.

—Charles Haskell,
Chair, Faith in Action Commission

January Food Sort Event

Volunteersfrom our church provided casseroles and cookies for 150 homeless men and womenat the Culver City Cold/Wet Shelter on the evening of January 1. First theygathered at the home of Beverly Alison, the coordinator, who providedsnacks and drinks before the whole group delivered the dinners to the shelter.