by Rev. Carlton Smith, UUA Southern Region Congregational Life Staff member
Gather in peace, gather in thanks
Gather in sympathy now and then
Gather in hope, compassion and strength
Gather to celebrate once again
The
chorus of Jim Scott's hymn "Gather the Spirit" came to mind when I
thought of our Southern Region's first-ever collaborative Annual
Assemblies between our three
districts and the Southwest Conference, April 25-26. Our coming together
will reflect our connections within our parts of the region, across our
region and with our larger Unitarian Universalist Association,
featuring a keynote address by recently elected UUA
moderator Jim Key.
Jim
will address delegates that Saturday morning from across the region
live via the internet from the Clara Barton District. He will speak to
our shared theme,
"Love Reaches Out", which is also the theme of our Association's General
Assembly in Providence, RI, June 25 -29. Jim will share his vision for
what regional collaboration can mean for Unitarian Universalism, as we
celebrate the progress we've made so far.
The Annual Assemblies and their locations are:
Florida District -- Vero Beach Unitarian Universalist Fellowship;
MidSouth District -- Unitarian Universalists of Metro Atlanta North (UUMAN)
Southeast District -- Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Raleigh
Southwest Unitarian Universalist Conference -- First Unitarian Church of Dallas
We, your regional staff, are coordinating with the District and Conference boards to create an inspiring weekend at each site.
Come prepared to give thanks, to celebrate, and to share the hope, compassion and strength of our Unitarian Universalist faith.
Yours in service,
Carlton
