Several UUFE members attended the 64th UUA General Assembly for four days in mid-June 2025, held at the Convention Center in Baltimore. There were about 3000 attendees, some of whom were online. General Assembly is the annual gathering of the Unitarian Universalists Association (UUA), where the business of the Association is conducted. There were also inspirational worship services, informative workshops, and a chance to meet up with friends and explore the exhibit hall. In this post, several attendees share their impressions from the conference.
Carol Meredith
To help pay for my registration, I worked as an usher during the General Sessions. I found it quite enjoyable as I got to see the work of the UUA in action. It was interesting to see the big picture and know that we are a part of it. I attended some sessions and was particularly excited by the session “Worship in Motion” where the Chalice Dancers from Paint Branch UUC (Hyattsville, MD) led us in some simple “dances”.
Mike Hammett
This was my third GA and I was honored to be chosen as a Delegate for UUFE to vote on important GA matters. I also attended the GAs in Spokane (2019) and Pittsburgh (2023). This year, I volunteered for 20 hours at Registration to defray the Conference’s costs and most of the time I worked alongside Jo Ebling as a team. Our entire Registration team handled almost 2000 registrations the first day of the conference and we were a little overwhelmed with lines 20 people deep in 5 registration lines. It got easier the next few days. Many of us from UUFE also had the opportunity to get to know each other better through shared meals at local restaurants.
As UU’s we celebrate diversity. At the GA you see and experience diversity among all attendees. I saw different genders, different races, different ages (I was pleased to see all of the young people), different mobility needs, different sizes (fat shaming was one of the session topics), and many, many different hairstyles and colors. People attached stickers to their name badges to share more about them (First timer, Delegate, UUWomen, etc.), and some collected stickers as a personal hobby with 5 or more attached to their badges.
There is probably no better place than a GA to experience UU as a faith and religion with over 2800+ like-minded individuals who share the same values as you.
Marti MacKenzie
General Assembly was the culmination of years of planning, lots of behind-the-scenes preparation, and countless hours of volunteer work. I was asked a year ago to lead the Greeters, or as we are fondly called, the Ask Me team. Working as a helping, greeting volunteer means you see almost everyone, hear about the good and bad happenings, and feel the vibes and excitement of the convention-goers. This year’s theme, Meet the Moment, was appropriate with attention to how we live our values in a changing world. Personally, I felt that theme the final evening when author and transgender activist Imara Jones spoke about the politically-expedient, growing, targeted weaponization against trans people. Jones challenged us to radically Meet the Moment, to continue to value and fight for the inherent worth and dignity of all. I was inspired.
Joyce Dowling
As one of your UUFE delegates attending General Sessions, I was especially impressed with the CSAI (Congregational Study Action Issue) process which caused our moderators to admit mistakes, ask for additional votes, extend time for presentations & pro/con comments, which ultimately changed the vote to accept our 3-year issue for study to Abolition, Transformation, and Faith Formation, which I supported. Of note, two outstanding UU volunteer leaders were recognized with awards: Paula Cole Jones & Larry Ladd. I also enjoyed volunteering as a greeter for the first time, even though this was my 18th time attending GA. There was so much that happened there. I hope we have time to share more with you about it. Feel free to ask me anything. Check out news articles on www.uuworld.org.
Jo Ebling
Attending my first UU General Assembly, I volunteered to work at registration. The enthusiasm of the attendees was contagious! The registration team worked smoothly and managed to register more than 1000 attendees on Wed. afternoon with few challenges other than running out of stacks of the name tag badges at the five printers. By Thursday, we were hitting our stride as many other attendees arrived at GA.
On Friday and Saturday, I attended a few sessions and conversed with other UU’s on a variety of topics. I also followed a few of the sessions regarding the new virtual Sing Out Love hymnal and am curious how it might develop in the future.
In addition, I was able to connect with a few old friends from North Carolina and when I attended the Southeastern UU Summer Institute (SUUSI) several years ago.