Each year the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) holds an annual conference called General Assembly (GA). This year a historic vote will be taking place during the event. After a rather long hiatus in revising Article 2 of the UUA bylaws, the portion of the document which lists the 7 principles and 6 sources, a proposed revision will be formally voted on. You can read more about the principles and sources here: https://firstunitarian.us/about-us/our-beliefs/uu-principles-and-sources/
The revision captures much of the spirit and ideas of the current Article 2 while also offering Unitarian Universalists something new. The core of the revision is the 6 values with love being at the center. For the first time in this history of the UUA bylaws, the proposed revision includes a graphic representation:
You can read more about the proposed revision along with the explanation of each of these values here: https://www.uua.org/uuagovernance/committees/article-ii-study-commission/final-proposed-revision-article-ii
This revision process has been going for some years at the Unitarian Universalist Association, but this upcoming vote at General Assembly will finalize whether the revision is officially adopted in the UUA bylaws.
This past Sunday, members of First Unitarian Church met to discuss the revision and inform the two delegates that we are sending to General Assembly on how to vote in order to best represent our congregation.
After a rigorous discussion of the pros and cons of the revision, a vote was taken: 15 folks were opposed to the revision, 8 were in favor, and 3 abstained. As a result, it was decided that one of our delegates would vote in opposition of the revision and the other would vote in favor.
It is worth noting that even if the UUA adopts the revision to article 2, how each congregation, and each Unitarian Universalist relates to these changes is not guaranteed. As a faith tradition that values independent and free thinking, each person and group may decide for themselves whether they want to engage with the 6 values or continue using the 7 principles and 6 sources to describe their faith.