GA Hometown Press Release

Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations
For Immediate Release

Unitarian Universalists Conclude Annual General Assembly in Long Beach

(Long Beach, CA – June 28, 2004) The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) today concluded its annual General Assembly by passing a Statement of Conscience on civil liberties which calls for the resignation of U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft and the repeal of the USA Patriot Act.

In addition to the statement on civil liberties, delegates passed five Actions of Immediate Witness intended to address recent events. The new resolutions voice opposition to a proposed federal marriage amendment, call for state and federal laws to require electronic voting systems to produce a voter-verified paper audit trail, urge renewal of the federal ban on assault weapons, and endorse the Alien Torts Claim Act. Responding to the war in Iraq, the Assembly also called on its members to hold the United States government accountable for its commitments under the recently passed United Nations Security Council Resolution 1546.

In its final vote, the Assembly overwhelmingly passed a resolution condemning the use of torture and calling on all people of conscience “to hold accountable any individual, group, organization or nation that conducts, authorizes, condones, or covers up the use of torture.”

More than 4700 Unitarian Universalists from across the country attended the five-day General Assembly in Long Beach, California. Delegates donated more than $51,000 to the Long Beach Interfaith Community Organizing (ICO) group for the construction of a permanent homeless shelter. Another $20,000 was donated to the ICO by the local Long Beach Unitarian Universalist congregation.

Guest speakers at the gathering included Robert Reich, Amy Goodman, Ed Begley, Jr., and Holly Near, folksinger and activist, who delivered the annual Ware Lecture. Delegates attended workshops designed to support congregational justice work and to deepen their Unitarian Universalist faith.

Unitarian Universalism is a liberal, creedless religion with Judeo-Christian roots; it traces its history in North America to the first Pilgrim and Puritan settlers, and has numbered among its members five U.S. presidents. The UUA, headquartered in Boston, MA, was formed in 1961 through the consolidation of the Universalist Church of America and the American Unitarian Association. 1,010 congregations in North America belong to the Unitarian Universalist Association.

The UUA website ( www.uua.org ) contains extensive coverage of the General Assembly. For further information on Unitarian Universalism, please contact John Hurley, UUA director of information and public witness (617-948-6131), or Janet Hayes, information officer (617-948-4386).

Unitarian Universalist Association
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