General Assembly registration rates increase May 1. Register now for lower rates.

We hope to see you in Fort Lauderdale for an exciting and enriching General Assembly,

centered on the theme of the “Common Threads” that weave together

the fabric of our Unitarian Universalist faith and community.

Join us June 25-29, 2008 at the

Greater Fort Lauderdale / Broward County Convention Center, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Orchestra! Choir! Percussion!

Amazing, inspiring, unique and uplifting Opening Worship centered around The Sources, a cantata setting of the UU Sources with music by Rev. Jason Shelton and text by Rev. Kendyl Gibbons.

Address the issues of civil liberties and immigration policy

Special Featured Programs on Friday and Saturday will address the issues of civil liberties and immigration policies, followed by Appreciative Inquiry sessions offering a chance to explore and wrestle with these issues in depth together.

Hear from award-winning authors and distinguished voices from outside our tradition

Eboo Patel on Interfaith Youth in the Age of Fundamentalism; John Dear on Peacemaking and the Questions of Jesus; and Karen Brodkin on Wrestling with Whiteness; The Politics of Jewish Identity in a Multiracial America.

Witness for social justice

We’ll blending advocacy and celebration and reaching out to the local community during a multi-generational public witness celebrating and defending the rights of Gay, Bisexual, Lesbian, and Transgender and immigrant families; Friday from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. in a Fort Lauderdale city park.

Meet the UUA Presidential Candidates

Candidates will answer your questions about their vision for the UUA Presidency in anticipation of the upcoming 2009 election.

See Ware Lecturer Van Jones

Van Jones is working to combine solutions to America's two biggest problems: social inequality and environmental destruction. In 1996, Jones co-founded the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, which promotes positive alternatives to violence and incarceration. The center's Books Not Bars campaign has helped reduce California's overall youth prison population by more than 30 percent. In the aftermath of 2005's Hurricane Katrina, Jones helped to found ColorOfChange.org, the nation's biggest e-advocacy organization tackling Black issues. Over the past five years, Jones has also emerged as a national environmental leader. In June 2007, the City of Oakland, CA adopted a proposal from the Ella Baker Center and the Oakland Apollo Alliance to create a "Green Jobs Corps." The Corps will train youth for eco-friendly “green-collar” jobs. Now the Center is working with the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) to create the country's first-ever Green Enterprise Zone, to attract environmentally sound industry to Oakland. At the national level, Jones and the Ella Baker Center worked with Congress to pass the Green Jobs Act of 2007. That path-breaking, historic legislation will provide $120 million in funding to train 35,000 people a year in green-collar jobs.

Worship together

Join us for the largest annual gathering of Unitarian Universalists joining in worship. The sermon will be delivered by Rev. Marlin Lavanhar, settled minister of All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, OK since 2000. Rev. Lavanhar became widely recognized within the denomination for his development of the "Soulful Sundown Service" program in Boston, which reaches out to unchurched young people. He has spoken frequently on interfaith relations, religious freedom, and on worship for young adults. Members of the public are welcome.

To learn more:

General Assembly Notice of Meeting (This comprehensive booklet contains information about traveling to GA, Planned Programming, Information for First Time Attendees, the Tentative Agenda, and other related materials.)

General Assembly registration information (childcare is available)

General Assembly housing reservations

General Assembly schedule (program details will not be available until May)

General Assembly accessibility services

Explore http://www.uua.org/events/generalassembly/index.shtml, call (617) 948-4209, or write gaoffice@uua.org.