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Notes from GA 2003
By Robert L. Smith, Jr., FUSS delegate to GA:
The GA Choir occupied most of my working time. Attending five rehearsals each
1-1/4 hours long, limited my workshop, meeting and worship service participation.
The GA Choir sings at the Closing Celebration as does the UU Children's Choir.
Each choir sings some selections alone as well as some common selections for
both choirs. The GA Choir consisted of 183 individuals: 56 sopranos, 58 altos,
38 tenors and 31 bases. The UU Children's Choir consisted of 129 children from
about 8 to 15 years old, somewhat evenly divided between sopranos and altos.
I did manage to attend the following workshops.
Panel on Economic Globalization This event featured
four speakers: Bob Alpern, UUA Washington, DC Office; Kevin Murray, Grassroots
International; Rev. David
Nelson, UUJEC; Brenda Cotto-Escalera, Lesley College, On Liberation Theology.
All of the speakers concentrated on the ill effects of NAFTA on the poorest
of the poor in Mexico. This trade agreement spurred the uneducated poor to
emigrate to the USA. When Jack Welsh moved the GE Medium Transformer Operation
from Rome, GA to Monterrey, Mexico, he brought only well paying jobs for which
most Mexicans are not qualified. This only emphasizes the poor education available
for most Mexicans and further degrades most of the population. This move lost
the USA many good jobs. In this panel's opinion, this was a "lose-lose" event
rather than the "win-win" event most GE management believe it to be.
The TAO of Aging This event featured 2 moderators: Rev. Pat Hoertdorfer & Rev.
Marjorie Bowens-Wheatley. Both ministers ran an excellent workshop. After a brief
introduction by our two moderators, we all subscribed to a Spiritual Eldering
Community Covenant: to honor and respect the confidentiality of what is spoken
here . ; to actively participate and support the sharing of the group .; to listen
without judgment . ; and to exercise our personal right to refrain from any activity
that violates our boundaries. Our first task was for each of the 40 or so people
in the room to introduce themselves and state the number of years experience
each possessed. We each received a four-column chart with 12 rows. For each row,
the first column represented a 7-year phase of our life [ 0-7 years, 8-14 years
. 71-77 years, 78 and older]. The second column represented significant events;
the third people who guided and influenced and the fourth column was contribution
to life. We each picked a certain span and filled out three significant events,
people and contributions. About 10 of us shared our entries with the group.
Is
Universalism the Religion You're Looking For? Rev. Richard Trudeau gave an
interesting one-hour lecture primarily concerning the roots of Universalism,
pointing out
how this movement spread through the country from the late 18th Century to
the early 20th Century, spreading the deeper meaning of the metaphorical
Biblical
sotires.
UUs for Ethical Treatment of Animals Worship Service For this service Rev. Darcy Laine provided a provocative sermon entitled "What Separates Us From Animals" that opened my eyes to many realities I had not seen before.
Our Musical Diversity: Religious Freedon & Responsibility Kerry-Anne Kutz, singer from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, presented a wonderful IARF-sponsored program of songs celebrating our diversity and reflecting our commitment to religious freedom and responsibility following an introduction by Natalie Gulbrandsen.
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