UU Polity

The Polity Intensive Class will happen June 19 – 23 synchronous online for the Unitarian Universalist Association’s General Assembly. Students will discover the mechanics of governance by observing Unitarian Universalist polity in action. We will attend plenary sessions, business mini-assemblies, and worship services, as well as meet as a class on Zoom during breaks to process our observations, learn the history of congregational polity in contrast to other polity paradigms, and thus locate our polity in its theological and cultural contexts. We will also use the case study method to dissect recent actions of the General Assembly, using video from previous General Assemblies. We will evaluate how polity acts as it is translated from the church to a national setting: informed by social justice, our polity can have global impact. The General Assembly theme this year, “Love Unites, Stories Ignite” will guide our interpretation of this moment in Unitarian Universalist polity: rooted in justice, healing from White Supremacy Culture, and courage to co-create a radical and inclusive future. General Assembly will be a laboratory for our lived faith as it becomes bylaws: through these reflections, we will develop strategies to translate our Principles and Purposes into action, to become more effective religious leaders, as well as resources for our congregations and communities. For Unitarian Universalists, democracy is in the details.

Students will be responsible for their own registration for General Assembly.

Relates to Thresholds: 1. Life in Religious Community and Interfaith Engagement 4. History of Dissenting Traditions and MFC Competency: 6 Serves the larger UU Faith.

Maximum Enrollment: 20. Auditors excluded.