Week 20 of 26: Generally Assembled in South Florida

The Monday evening before the start of General Assembly, I went out with my host Paula* in Ft. Lauderdale and a friend of hers, Bill*, in North Miami on Bill's four-seater boat, docked behind his house on a canal. It was very cloudy, and the coulds got darker while we were out. The travel advisory on his radio was telling everyone in our area to stay inside, and it was the case that almost no one else was on the water. We passed by very humble homes and estates valued in the tens of millions of dollars as we made our way out. At one point, the waters got very choppy, and it seemed it could rain any minute, big bucks of rain ... and then there were a few drops, and then ... nothing. our outing was about 45 minutes, but in the end, the biggest problem was (were?) the mosquitoes that bit at us as we were boarding. The sky was fantastic in its ominousness, though. I would share pictures, but I've misplaced the cable to download pictures from my camera to my computer. Once I can do that transfer, I will share some ...

Tuesday morning I out to Hollywood, where I was hosted by Miguel*, a native of Spain via Argentina. He has a beautiful hound named Segundo* who shared the guest room with me. I spent about all that day and evening getting set up for General Assembly, ironing my clothes, doing some cooking so there would be something to eat late nights when I came in. I cooked, in fact, the last of the kidney beans I brought back from the countryside of western Kenya, which had been grown and given to me by the mother of a friend born there. I claim her mother as one of mine now ... I made a vegan chili that turned out well.

Wednesday afternoon, I arrived a GA, which was in the convention center inside the Port Everglades. They make you show your government-issued ID to get in the port area and the center itself, only barely glancing at it -- a security measure that would seem only to detain those not bright enough to get fake IDs or to take the GA shuttle bus from the hotels, for which there was no security check upon disembarking. Anyway, I was glad to have a message from Kim, one of the members of Central Unitarian Church of Bergen County (NJ), for me posted on the message board. I met her at the volunteer office, and a little later, at the in-gathering for the Metro New York District, I saw her again, this time with Mary Fran, the President of the congregation. When I got me badge-necklace with "I (heart) Metro New York" all around it, it was a bit like arriving in Hawaii and receiving a lei. It seemed to say, "Welcome. You belong here with us now." I like that feeling.

Mary Fran, Kim and I dined at a very pleasant Thai restaurant a few blocks from the convention center, getting to know each other a bit and discuss the church. At the line-up for the Banner Parade, part of the opening of GA every year, I met Britt again. She's CUC's Director of Religious Education, and had been so friendly helping me get oriented when I preached there in March. Mary Fran and Kim carried the church's new banner in the parade. It was really something to see all of those banners from hundreds of congregations across the country passing through the midst of the thousands of people gathered. Churches can seem so isolated from each other at times, and this was a visible affirmation of the connection between them -- between us -- from coast to coast and beyond.

It was good to catch up with friends and colleagues, and to meet some new ones over the course of those five days. I enjoyed hearing the inspirational stories of the breakthrough congregation -- those that have experienced dramatic growth in recent years -- and attending the worship service, including the Service of the Living Tradition, which honors those transitioning into and out of professional ministry, and the large Sunday morning service. The biggest highlight this year for me was the Ware Lecture, this year featuring Van Jones, co-founder of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights in Oakland, Cal. He's doing tremendous work and has a powerful and prophetic vision of environmental advocacy as it relates to socio-economic justice. He challenged those of us gathered to prepare to lead, because in this transitional time in our country and in the world, when it's clear that we can't sustain the level of consumption and mindlessness that we've indulged in for the past few generations, the planet needs those of us who have been protesting "the system" to actually become part of the transformation of the system. He was funny, engaging, passionate, informed ... think a younger, hipper version of Barack Obama. In fact, the adulation of the audience at the end of his lecture Saturday night was not unlike what one sees at rallies where the Democratic Party nominee speaks.

I stayed up most of Saturday night packing. I left Miguel's condo at 5:00 a.m., the same time he did as he was heading out to work. I went to IHOP for breakfast off Rte 1, near the convention center, and found a quiet 3rd floor lookout point inside the center. I watched as the banners came down, noting that they really did bring an abundance of color, personality and softness to the otherwise sterile interior of the building.

Sunday afternoon, after worship and after an afternoon workshop, I drove from the convention center up to Palm Beach Gardens. My colleague Pallas was willing to put me up for the night, as she and her partner Lloyd are packing up to move to Santa Cruz. I helped stack and rearrange some of the boxes in their moving pod before she, Lloyd and I went for dinner at the Waterway Cafe, and she and I went for a walk on the beach nearby. She and I stayed at the home of a gracious friend of hers a few minutes away from her close-to-empty house, and Lloyd stayed behind. We're all back now. They are packing, and I'm about to get on the road to ... Savannah.

* pseudonyms