Standing on the Side of Love @ the Salt Palace

I’m about to go to bed, because I have to get up at three in the morning (heaven help me) to catch my train back east. Before I do, though, here are a few impressions of General Assembly 2009:

– The weather was just about perfect: dry, warm but not too hot, and a couple of thunderstorms to keep it from getting boring. I have a theory that when the weather is perfect, there are fewer major conflicts at General Assembly — and indeed, this year I have heard of no erupting conflicts.

– The schedule was grueling. I had noticed that I was feeling particularly tired, but I hadn’t thought about why until someone pointed out that the GA schedule had no consistency. Plenary happened at odd times, workshop slots got thrown in when you didn’t expect them, UU University required an exhausting commitment of six hours Thursday afternoon and four hours Friday morning. I found the lack of regularity draining.

– The election for the next UUA president seemed to dominate everything else. I didn’t hear many people talking about their workshops, but everyone seemed to have something to say about the election.

– UU University (UUU) got mixed reviews this year. Some people liked their UU University track, some people thought it a waste of time (Doug Muder says much the same thing). Two years ago, I heard nothing but glowing reviews of UUU; maybe it didn’t scale up very well? It will be interesting to read summaries of the evaluations of UUU.

So ends another GA. Now off to bed.

I’ve been keeping my ear to the ground to hear reactions to UU University, which was a new part of the GA program this year. Early on I thought I was hearing a pattern in the scuttlebutt, but I’m glad I didn’t blog about it, because the pattern didn’t hold. I don’t know how future GA planners are going to evaluate this, and I don’t think I can help them. Some people liked it. Some people didn’t. Some of the people who liked it thought it took up too much time. Others didn’t. (This kind of analysis is why they don’t pay me the big bucks.) If UUU had been awful, attendance would have significantly fallen off on the second day, but I don’t think it did.

Salt Lake City has been a big topic of discussion. The local economy is a paradox, because there’s lots of construction, but hardly anybody on the sidewalks — even at noon on a weekday. And the city doesn’t fit its stereotypes at all. For example, there are at least two excellent brewpubs within walking distance of the Salt Palace: Squatters and Red Rock. And it rains. We had quite a thunderstorm Friday, with a beautful double rainbow.

I did manage to cast my presidential ballot. The lines were long, but the guy in front of me had been a poll-watcher in Chicago; he assured me that this was a very orderly process by comparison. To pass the time, the guy behind me struck up a conversation about the revised list of UU Sources in the proposed bylaw changes; he was against them. Eventually the lines sorted out alphabetically by state, and I found myself in the Maryland-Massachusetts line behind Jack Mendelsohn.

Young campaigners at the Salt Palace

The Campaign. The buttons and t-shirts and people handing out leaflets have been everywhere the last few days, but on another level the presidential campaign has been strangely easy to ignore. As I wandered through the chattering crowds in the common areas, I don’t think I ever picked up the words “Morales” or “Hallman” — other than from identifiable campaigners. The people I hang out with have been eager to talk about some workshop or their UU University track or Salt Lake City, not the presidential campaign.

By-Laws. The other vote I cast was against the by-law changes, which failed by such a small margin that I practically decided the issue myself. And that is a scary thought, I guess, because I am what the pros call a “single-issue, low-information voter”. Like the guy in the voting line, I had read the revised UU Sources and I didn’t like them.

Listening to the debate on the floor (while I simultaneously transcribed my UU University notes), I gathered that a lot of people were single-issue voters, if perhaps better informed than I was. Most of the discussion was about the Sources, and a long line of people at the microphone for procedural questions tried to come up with some way we could pass the rest of the changes and vote on the Sources separately. They failed. For good reasons, I suppose, the process governing by-law changes is very strict. So any amendments were out of order, and we had to vote up or down on the whole package.

Even as I voted to reject their efforts, I felt bad for the people on the Commission on Appraisal, which wrote the changes. I imagined them working very diligently and conscientiously, as UU governance wonks almost always do. But I don’t think they fully appreciated the role that the Sources play for the people in the pews.

The Sources are key to the way our religious diversity works in practice. Almost everyone, I believe, identifies strongly with one or two of the Sources and grudgingly accepts one or two others. The statements about what we get from each Source may seem weak. But they acknowledge a floor, a basic minimum of respect that your favorite Source deserves from your fellow UUs.

In the proposed new Sources, that floor was gone. Some Sources were described as “vital” while others (a much longer list than before) had “influenced” or “informed” UUism. What exactly we got from each of them — as well as whether the influence was good or the information accurate — was left to interpretation. I found that unsettling enough to vote no.

“Praise song for trouble, praise song for day, praise song for every hand-lettered sign…” (Sorry: the teleprompter typist is faster than I am.)

Melissa Harris-Lacewell giving the Ware Lecture

What we need now is love. “Beware the crabs in the sand, but keep your eyes on the horizon. With reason and faith, let us walk forward into that light.”

9:14

It’s easy to write off faith talk as inherently divisive — but if we do that, we cede faith, and lose the use of it as a tool for the struggle for self, community, and justice. (Amen!)

(Your blogger is loving this part: I argue it often with my progressive blogging friends, most of whom are secular and don’t believe in the power of faith to create change.)

Faith is an exercise in intellectual humility, a habit that makes us recognize our own limitations, helps us come to terms with what we don’t know and can’t do.

“We come here together to day to make the most incredible faith claim of all: that we can establish a world that recognizes the inherent dignity of every single human being — and that we can make that world using the power of love.”

(Wild cheering!!)

9:09

Theologial confessions: She was a UU on Sunday mornings, and then went to Jeremiah Wright’s Trinity church on Sunday evenings. “A Unitarian by day, a Trinitarian by night.”

She’s now at Union Theological Seminary. “I stand in awe trying to figure out why black Americans are so convinced that God loves them when there is so much evidence to the contrary.” That’s a different kind of knowing than academic life teaches you — but it’s just as important.

9:07

She’s echoing Obama here: he’s not going to fix this. It’s on us. The hard work of governing has begun.

9:06

A litany of the bleak realities in the United States today — the rights not yet held by black, brown, immigrant, gay, and poor Americans. Bill Gates has more wealth than the bottom 40% of Americans combined.

What we spend every year on weapons could put every child in the world in school.

It’s delusional to think any point in the past was any different — or that a fair and equal world is possible. And that’s why we need faith. It’s what keeps us going when reason fails us.

9:02

She’s jealous of Van Jones (last year’s Ware Lecturer) getting to talk to us in an election year. It was a great year — but even then, the crabs were biting our feet.

She’s talking about Prop 8. Yes we can? Maybe only some of us can.

Now blasting Obama for picking Rick Warren to give the invocation. Not doing squat about Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. Backtracking on torture. Taking single-payer off the table — not even trying.

But Van Jones warned us last year: “Get prepared to govern.” We forgot to heed that. We got so used to being the outside agitators that we’re still figuring out how to govern with a friend in the White House, and we’re no longer at the margins.

8:59

Comparing the visual impact of Katrina to the visual impact of the Selma March in 1963. But there are still struggles and problems — segregation, poverty, preference for tourists over residents in city policies. The work continues, and will for a long while.

Quote of the night: “The best justice work we do comes about when we commit ourselves fully to a cause we’re likely to lose.”

8:57

Her family: her father was the descendant of slaves. Her mother’s ancestors pushed a handcart across the prairies to Salt Lake City in the great Mormon migration. (And she’s a UU — coming home in many ways today.)

The people of New Orleans came back and rebuilt “nail by nail.” They organized, filed paperwork with government agencies, worked jobs and then worked second shifts cleanup. Young people of all races streamed in, turning NO into Ground Zero for social justice movements — not just for spring break, but to settle and help with the rebuilding.

And the televised suffering of New Orleans changed the country, too: George Bush’s administraton recovered from the crisis, and the Democratic Party recovered its critical voice. “How can a government that can’t get water into an American city for three days prosecute a war overseas?” The 2006 election was a referendum on Bush’s policies, and the tide began to turn.

8:53

Her own visit to New Orleans in the days that followed bore out that history — and her conviction that New Orleans could not be rebuilt. And she wrote about it. The destruction was just too vast. So she argued for fair cash payments, insurance coverage, transition services — but also that demanding that it be rebuilt left her feeling hopeless. The crab was biting her toe.

8:49

Melissa Harris-Lacewell is telling us the story of her vacation at the beach. A perfect UU moment: standing chin-deep in the ocean, looking at a gorgeous sunrise with rays glittering on the water — and a crab biting her on the foot.

And now onto Katrina, a topic she speaks often on. Why was there so little coordinated response? It seemed clear to everybody on the ground that black Americans were being abandoned by their government — a racial gap that was reflected in the polls. Two-thirds of blacks believed that the government would have responded faster if the city had had a white majority. True or not, it was a powerful statement of the lack of trust between black America and the government.

8:47

I hadn’t meant to do this. I’m here “covering” it for a more serious article to be posted tomorrow. But I also have the full text of the speech already, so typing furiously won’t add a lot to what’s already there.

So I’ll live blog it.

Peter Morales has just released a statement on his Web site. Go here to read it.

8:30 p.m. MDT

That’s it. Final result: all uncontested candidates were elected. Peter Morales was elected the next UUA president with 59% of the vote.

8:28 p.m. MDT

The Rev. Tracy Robinson-Harris is leading us in the congregation in a responsive reading. I can feel myself calming down as more than two thousand people read together. Now John Hubert is leading us in the closing song, “For All That Is Our Life.”

Guess this means that neither Peter Morales nor Laurel Hallman will be speaking to us.

8:25 p.m. MDT

Heard around me: “I love this sermon, even though I’m not really listening.”

It’s a great sermon by Carley, but I know I’m too excited thinking of the election results to pay proper attention. But oh, he really is a good preacher.

8:23 p.m. MDT

3,543 votes cast. Chris Walton of UU World magazine, who’s sitting next to me here, calculates the following:

UUA President-elect Peter Morales won the UUA presidency decisively with 59 percent of all votes. He won 55 percent of the absentee vote (1,020 to 827) and 61 percent of the on-site vote (1,041 to 654). His margin of victory is 580 votes. Seven ballots were disqualified for discrepancies; one vote was cast for “No.”

Outgoing UUA President William G. Sinkford won by the largest margin of any UUA president in a contested race when he was first elected in 2001. Sinkford won that election with 67.7 percent (2,218 to 1,043).

Full article here.

8:18 p.m. MDT

The Plenary Hall looks very full now. Still a few people trickling in to the hall. (I hope word gets to the latecomers that Peter Morales won the presidential election.)

8:16 p.m. MDT

“Some of us in this moment are disappointed that our candidate was not elected, and some of us are delighted that our candidate won,” says Carley. “But all of us are thankful” for the people who are willing to serve as leaders.

Carley is being very funny — I can’t capture it here.

8:14 p.m. MDT

Gini Courter is walking around off stage. A small group talking over there.

Rev. Burton Carley is speaking, quoting Howard Thurman, speaking about how life can throw challenges at us.

Bill Sinkford is walking in in front of the stage. He just took a seat in the front row, off to my left.

8:10 p.m. MDT

Morales has just come on stage. Music playing.

8:10 p.m. MDT

Rickter is beginning to speak. “I can announce that we have elected as the 8th president of the UUA the Rev. Peter Morales.”

Cheers, clapping. A few people standing.

8:09 p.m. MDT

“[This is] a service of gratitude for those willing to serve,” says Anne Bancroft as she gives the opening words. She quotes from Marge Piercy’s poem, “To Be of Use.”

No sign of the candidates yet. Paul Rickter, who’s going to make the announcement, is on stage here though.

8:06 p.m. MDT

Just before the song started, I was hearing the word “upset.” 2062 to 1481 is a big win for Peter Morales.

8:05 p.m. MDT

John Hubert is leading those assembled in singing a hymn: “Gather the Spirit.” The worship celebration is beginning.

8:02 p.m. MDT

Vote totals: Morales 2062, Hallman 1481.

8:00 p.m. MDT

Morales won. (The UUA Twitter feed posted the result before me. Drat.)

7:58 p.m. MDT

I just walked back to the entrance to the Plenary Hall. There’s something of a bottleneck getting into the hall. Everyone’s coming at once.

Not quite the sense of eager anticipation I expected, though. I’m hearing people talking about everything except the election results.

7:56 p.m. MDT

Now people are really streaming into the Plenary Hall. The hall is only about a fifth full yet….

7:54 p.m. MDT

Still waiting for key people to show up in the Plenary Hall — these are people who are supposed to be leading the Celebration of the two candidates. I just overheard a member of teh GA Planning Committee say, “We’re going ahead anyway, we’ll just have to trust they show up in time.”

7:52 p.m. MDT

OK, I just got word that there is a decision on who’s the next UUA president, but there’s no word yet on who it is.

7:49 p.m. MDT

Sounds like there is a possibility there might be a delay in the announcement of who’s the next UUA President. I’ll let you know more when I know more.

7:45 p.m. MDT

People are starting to arrive in the Plenary hall to hear the announcement about who won the election to be next UUA president. Stay tuned….

You can read my news report here, but the short version is that Pentecostal megachurch minister Carlton Pearson had a John-Murray-style Universalist conversion experience a few years ago, and the remnant of his congregation has recently joined All Souls in Tulsa. Tulsa’s second service now has the same intellectual content as its first service, but it also has some of the look-and-feel of a Pentecostal service.

If I had to sum up the attitude projected by Tulsa minister Marlin Lavanhar last night, it would be: Why not? Somebody explain to me why we can’t do this and still be UUs.

And Pearson asked the $64,000 question: “What’s wrong with a Pentecostal Unitarian or Universalist?”

One Pearson quote didn’t fit neatly into my news article, but does match a theme I’ve been developing on this blog. When he started coming to All Souls Unitarian in Tulsa, Pearson discovered some people we didn’t know were there.

“There are people in [All Souls] church who are ORU [Oral Roberts University in Tulsa] graduates, who are from the Baptist church and the Pentecostal church. Some of them still speak in tongues — quietly.” After a burst of laughter, Pearson said something very interesting: “I found that this church was quietly more inclusive than they knew.”

UPDATE: I happened to run into Marlin Lavanhar later and asked him how many people we were talking about. He said about 35 people from Pearson’s New Dimensions congregation had joined All Souls, but that as many as 100 were participating in one way or another.

One of my favorite parts of a worship service is sitting and listening to the postlude after the worship service. I like hearing good music (tonight we’re getting something from Handel’s Water Music), while all the people around me are talking about the service, talking among themselves, talking about their families, heading out of the worship service and back to normal life.

10:11 p.m. MDT

The last of the professional religious leaders being recognized head off the stage. “Give ‘em a last round of applause,” says Beth Miller. The congregation erupts in applause.

10:07 p.m. MDT

The recessional hymn is one of my favorites, “For All the Saints,” with music by Ralph Vaughan Williams. (I still say he’s the best writer of hymn tunes of the 20th century.) Another hymn that sounds particularly good when two thousand people sing it.

9:59 p.m. MDT

Mary Harrington’s voice is very soothing. Her voice is creating an almost meditative state in the congregation here — very much in line with part of what she’s saying in her sermon, which is that we all need to take time for quiet and reflection and awareness.

9:40 p.m. MDT

“The Bible often refers to sheep, and having personally raised sheep, I can assure you this is not a compliment,” says Rev. Mary Harrington, our preacher this evening. She gets a surprised laugh from the congregation.

“It is easy for us to tune out what is most important in life,” she continues. Yep, let’s not be sheep. Tune in.

“Sometime I think it would take a pickaxe to get my attention,” Harrington admits. Thank goodness it’s not just me who doesn’t pay attention to life!

9:33 p.m. MDT

It happens in every worship service: someone falls asleep, a well-dressed white man with gray hair. He’s sitting a few rows back from me, chin down on chest. It’s a moving worship service, Bill Sinkford and Rev. Sarah Gibb Millspaugh are reading a moving poem, and we all want to stay awake. But let’s face it, General Assembly is exhausting, and sleep can overcome even the best intentions. As for me, I had a cup of coffee before I came in to worship.

9:26 p.m. MDT

It’s time for the offering. The money goes to the Living Tradition Fund, which provides grants to ministers who are buried under debt from seminary, and retired ministers who have inadequate pensions. “We need to raise $200,000 tonight from you,” says Rev. Richard Nugent, director of church staff finances at the UUA. Times are tough for ministers and seminarians, many of whom are economically marginal (says the blogger, speaking from personal experience). The baskets being passed behind me are piled with checks, pledge cards, and what look like twenty dollar bills. GA delegates do tend to be generous in their giving.

(You can donate, too, if you’re following GA from home. Here’s the Web page — and no, they don’t yet take PayPal or credit cards online.)

9:18 p.m. MDT

I’m seeing a much greater diversity of clerical garb among the ministers being recognized at this Service of the Living Tradition. Most ministers used to wear traditional black robes or academic robes. But this year, I’m seeing several white robes, several blue robes, suit and tie, blue blazer, dark shirt open at the throat, white blouse with ruffled collar, and more.

9:03 p.m. MDT

As I’m listening to the names of the ministers who are completing service and retiring this year, I’m struck by how many of them are women.

Now comes the litany of appreciation for the ministers who are retiring. Two thousand voices behind me saying: “We rejoice and give thanks for the gifts of your heart.” And the words we in the congregation are saying are heartfelt.

Applause for the retiring ministers, growing in volume.

8:56 p.m. MDT

A moment of silence for the ministers who died in the past year.

When you’re sitting in the middle of it, the sound of two thousand people in silence is almost overwhelming in intensity.

(((…transcendent moment…)))

Can’t be described adequately….

8:48 p.m. MDT

I’m such a child of the Web — I’m watching the streaming video of the Service of the Living Tradition, at the same time I’m watching the actual Service,a nd watching the video that’s projected on the big screens on either side of the stage.

You should be watching the Service on streaming video, if you’re not already. Go to:
http://www.uua.org/events/generalassembly/2009/index.shtml
Click on the big link in the upper right corner of the Web page. Make sure your browser is set to allow pop-up windows, because the video is going to appear in a pop-up window.

8:41 p.m. MDT

Rev. Beth Miller, director of ministry at the UUA, tells the congregation to applaud all the ministers, religious educators, and music directors who are now on stage, and going to be recognized tonight. Cheers, clapping, people waving their hands over their heads, people standing — and all those on stage grinning big happy grins.

8:39 p.m. MDT

There they go, processing past us, the ministers, religious educators, and music directors who are going to be recognized. One person was carrying a small video camera and recording his point of view as he walked in — hope he posts the video to YouTube (if you know him, tell him to post a link to his video in the comments). We’re all singing the traditional hymn for this processional, “Rank by Rank Again We Stand.” Gives me the shivers every time.

Update: The person with the video camera has uploaded his video. You can watch it here.

8:34 p.m. MDT

I just wandered back to the hallway outside the hall. The ministers, religious educators, and music directors who are going to be recognized during the Service of the Living Tradition are all lined up outside the door. Some of them looked giddy with pleasure; some of them were still and centered; and some of them were just talking with the people next to them.

8:27 p.m. MDT

Kenneth Ewan, the music director for this worship service has the whole congregation singing in three-part harmony: a bass drone, a lead part, and a high descant part. So here I am surrounded by more than a thousand people singing in harmony. The hair on the backs of my arms is standing up….

8:17 p.m. MDT

The house lights went all the way down, for some unknown reason — this while people are still streaming into the hall. It’s a problem, as people come in out of the brightly-lit hallway in a crowd, and can’t see. But as I stood at the back of the hall, it was also really magical — dim shapes of scores of people casting long shadows behind them as they walked forward towards the brightly-lit stage.

8:10 p.m. MDT

Outside, it’s pouring rain, and we can occasionally hear the thunder here inside the convention center. People are streaming into the hall, trying to get the best seats possible for the Service of the Living Tradition. Lots of people greeting old friends in aisles, lots of talking all through the hall.

Kate Clinton

Something like this was bound to happen. You put several thousand UUs in the middle of the Mormon Jerusalem, just half a block from Temple Square — and you gotta know you’re just asking for a major, major smiting.

Tonight, we got our divine retribution, such at it was.

I was covering comedian Kate Clinton’s performance “I Told You So” in the Grand Ballroom when our cosmic comeuppance was finally delivered. In fact, I blame her. She was holding forth on California’s Proposition 8, which overrode a court order legalizing gay marriage in that state. Based on some bad polling interpretation, a lot of people came to believe that proposition lost because of the black churches. But Clinton was setting us, ahem, straight:

“It wasn’t the black churches. It was the white churches. It was the Catholic archbishops, who’ve never been married, pouring money into the campaign. And it was the Mormons, who know so much about marriage,” she announced, dropping her voice to a whisper when she said the M-word. “And by the way…that’s Mormon, with two Ms.”

At that precise moment that her last bit of wordplay was sinking in and the crowd was launching into a collective roar, fate struck. Or at least something did. The entire convention center rocked with a huge clap of thunder that sounded very much like the roof trying to come down over our heads. Moments later, we listened again as the sky outside cracked open with a ferocious rainstorm.

Kate paused while the sound echoed through the hall. Then she stepped back up to the mike, and in a very sweet and mild voice said: “I love Mormons!”

It was only as I made my way back to my hotel half an hour later that I found out just how close the call was. The crack we heard was lightening striking the convention center’s tower, which forms one of the two main entrances to the hall. Our outside convention banner was partly struck down, and hung loosely by a single rope off the tower’s side. The entry was cordoned off with police tape, pending a structural inspection of the roof, supports, and glass. Outside, a storm of truly Biblical proportions was turning State Street into a river.

Serves us heretics right, I guess. Never let it be said that UUs are afraid in the face of divine wrath.

Still, He can’t have been all that mad. Because 15 minutes later, the storm cleared — leaving us with a gorgeous double rainbow arcing right over the center.

I hope that means that all is forgiven.

And everyone heads off to the rally for immigrant rights….

5:05 p.m. MDT

There’s another motion to refer this motion back to the Commission on Social Witness. It needs a two-thirds vote. Gini Courter says the motion carries on a visual vote. “By a whisker,” says someone near me.

So the peacemaking SOC goes back to the Commission on Social Witness for additional study….

4:58 p.m. MDT

We’re getting into convoluted parliamentary procedures. Gini Courter says, “Now I’ve even confused our general counsel.” She explains, tries to call for a vote, but now the parliamentarian consults with her. The vote is on calling the question. The delegates vote to call the question. The vote to refeer the question failed to get two-thirds vote. Back to the amendment microphone.

Some people still look confused (I’m one of them). But here we are, back where we were ten minutes ago….

4:53 p.m. MDT

A motion is been made to refer this whole motion back to the Commission on Social Witness. A few groans audible from the delegates. The motion to refer has to get a two-thirds vote….

4:47 p.m. MDT

A delegate speaks at the wrong microphone, asking to table the whole motion. After telling him that we will come back to his motion after the vote on the amendment that’s currently being debated, Gini Courter gets lost — Pro microphone? Con? Amendment? Legal counsel and parliamentarian haven’t been keeping track… the one who remembers is the fellow working to video camera: it’s the Pro microphone.

4:41 p.m. MDT

The Parliamentarian is carefully reading through the handout on the Statement on Conscience. He has the UUA bylaws open on the table in front of him. The UUA’s legal counsel is listening attentively — now he’s also looking through the Statement of Conscience.

Suddenly, several people that were just waiting to speak at the Amendment microphone have walked away. Now there are only three people waiting at the Amendment microphone.

4:35 p.m. MDT

Now there are 13 people waiting to get at the Amendment microphone. Yow!

4:33 p.m. MDT

Question at procedural microphone: What happens if we vote down this SOC?

The question is referred to the Parliamentarian. He says, there is a third choice besides voting up or down — the delegates could refer this SOC back for further study.

4:30 p.m. MDT

It’s fun watching the two reporters from UU World work on this debate: they’re both sitting on the floor, one holding a digital audio recorder while scribbling at her notebook, and one sitting taking photographs while scribbling in his notebook. Next to me, the reporter fromt eh UUA Web site is typing on her laptop — she is a fast touch typist, is recording everything while rarely looking at her keyboard.

4:27 p.m. MDT

4 waiting people at Con microphone. 2 people waiting at Pro microphone.

And now there are seven or eight people waiting at the Amendment microphone, and one speaking.

4:25 p.m. MDT

People clustered around the Amendment microphone.

A question about the intent of the resolution from the Pro microphone. The chair of the Commission on Social Witness answers the question from the Procedural microphone, but his answer is not satisfactory, so there’s another question.

Moderator Gini Courter asks if there is an amendment yet. But the teller at the Amendment microphone shakes her head: not yet.

4:22 p.m. MDT

Moderator Gini Courter reminds delegates that now is the time for amendments. But so far, no one has appeared at the Amendment microphone.

5 at Con microphone, 3 waiting at the Pro microphone.

4:19 p.m. MDT

Now the debate is heating up. The speakers are starting to respond to each other, rather than just making points about the SOC. Looks like the debate is going to go right to the time limit….

4:17 p.m. MDT

Again, there was no one at the Con microphone, and then suddenly three more people appear. Now five people at Pro microphone.

4:16 p.m. MDT

Now no one at Con microphone. No one at Amendment microphone.

Whoops, here comes one more person to the Con microphone. Is it perhaps hard for delegates to step up and speak against this SOC?

So far, the Con speakers have been almost entirely ministers, trying to represent the diversity of the views in their congregations.

4:11 p.m. MDT

Now about 8 people lined up at the Pro microphone, one at the Con microphone.

4:09 p.m. MDT

The debate seems to be taking shape: on the Pro side, we want to support peacemaking; and on the Con side, let’s not shut out the Unitarian Universalists who serve in the military or work in the Pentagon.

4:06 p.m. MDT

The Statement on Conscience (SOC) we’re considering is on peacemaking. The chair of the Commission of Social Witness points out that it would be consistent if we kept the debate peaceful and nonviolent — the delegates laugh at this.

The Youth Caucus come to the Pro microphone to speak in favor of this SOC.

Now a minister at the Con microphone — “I want to reflect the lack of consensus in my own congregation and in our movement on this SOC.”

There two people lined up at the Pro microphone, and one at the Con microphone.

3:59 p.m. MDT

The tellers are handing out a chunk of paper: five sheets of blue paper printed on both sides. Wait, I have to read this in three minutes?

3:56 p.m. MDT

It’s time for a vote on statement of conscience. “Get your delegate cards ready,” says moderator Gini Courter. I can feel the tension and energy level of the Plenary session rising.

3:35 p.m. MDT

Terry Sweetser introduces the segment where we memorialize dedicated Unitarian Universalists who have died in the past year. When Jackie Mgazu’s picture flashes on the screen, I get all teary-eyed — she was one of the great lay leaders in Ballou Channing District, and gave me such good advice more than once.

3:30 p.m. MDT

Yes, people are up and dancing to the song “Has Anybody Seen the Choir” — and I mean half a dozen people are really dancing. The whole hall is clapping along, people are up and out of their seats, moving to this folk-blues song by Emma’s Revolution.

3:24 p.m. MDT

Pat Humphries and Sandy O are leading us in their recent song “Peace Salaam Shalom.” What a fabulous song — an easy part for the audience to sing, led by Sandy O, while Pat Humphries sings a harmony part over that. “It’s an honor to songwriters to hear their songs become tools in the way you [UUs] use them.”

Now they’re singing “Swimming to the Other Side,” which I think should be the next UU anthem. Yeah, I’m a fan of theirs, so maybe I’ll rush the stage and see if they’ll sign my laptop.

3:14 p.m. MDT

One of the speakers says Pat Humphries and Sandy O are going to be singing later on. My mind had wandered, but that got my attention. “Pat Humphries!” I said. She’s the songwriter who wrote “Never Turning Back,” and “Swimming to the Other Side,” two songs that our church’s choir sings, songs that exemplify Unitarian Universalist social and spiritual values for me. “Pat Humphries is going to be singing here!?”

Chris grins at me, and says, “GA is full of pleasant surprises.”

3:13 p.m. MDT

DRUUMM, the organization for UU people of color, presents a silk robe to Bill Sinkford, to honor his support for DRUUMM. He tries it on. Whistles of appreciation from the delegates — he looks really sharp in this robe, which was brought here from India by a UU with Indian roots.

3:08 p.m. MDT