Compassion, Justice, and Community at GA 2026 – First Unitarian Church of Honolulu

Collage-style promotional image on a textured magenta background featuring three overlapping photo snapshots. One photo shows people gathered in a meeting room watching a large projected presentation. Another shows a virtual video call with several participants on screen. The center photo shows an audience at a live event applauding and raising their hands. The overall design highlights both online and in-person community participation and connection.

View this email as a webpage

Grateful for our Sponsors

Supporting GA together everywhere

Meet our Speakers

Learn about this year’s voices and leaders

GA Schedule

See what’s happening, day by day

Access the full GA experience from wherever you are

Poster for the documentary Si Pudiera Quedarme / If I Could Stay. The image features close-up portraits of two women facing forward, one on the left and one on the right, against a dark, softly lit background. The film title appears prominently at the top in large white text, with the Spanish title “si pudiera quedarme” above the English subtitle “if I could stay.” Festival laurels and production credits appear along the bottom of the poster.

A Powerful Story of Sanctuary, Faith, and Immigrant Justice Comes to GA

This year’s General Assembly will include a special online screening of If I Could Stay / Si Pudiera Quedarme, an award-winning PBS documentary that follows two undocumented mothers who take sanctuary in local churches rather than face deportation and separation from their families.

Filmed over eight years, the documentary offers an intimate look at the lives of Jeanette Vizguerra and Ingrid Encalada Latorre, while also exploring how Unitarian Universalist and other faith communities respond when called to put their values into action. The film includes bilingual English and Spanish captions.

The screening will take place Wednesday, June 17 at 7:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. CT / 5:00 p.m. MT / 4:00 p.m. PT as part of GA’s midweek programming.

Immediately following the screening, GA registrants can join a live Zoom conversation with organizers, faith leaders, impacted community members, and filmmaker Theo Rigby exploring sanctuary, immigrant justice, and the role of faith communities today.

Confirmed panelists include Jeanette Vizguerra, organizer and protagonist featured in the film, Rev. Deborah Lee of the Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity, Rev. John Fife, Southside Presbyterian Church, and Theo Rigby, co-director of the film.

Details for joining the post-film discussion will be available in the GA app when it opens on May 29.

Learn more about If I Could Stay / Si Pudiera Quedarme

This week, we’re highlighting three more impactful Wave Cohorts that will take place during General Assembly 2026 on Saturday, June 20. These three-hour experiences invite participants into meaningful reflection, faithful discernment, and shared learning rooted in the Meet the Moment framework.

Whether you are seeking spiritual grounding, professional connection, bold imagination for the future of our faith, or deeper engagement with justice and liberation, these Wave Cohorts offer opportunities to engage deeply with others in this Moment.

Take a look at this week’s featured cohorts:

Choosing Love: Exploring Compassion in a Hurting World

Facilitated by Rev. Megan Lloyd Joiner and May Engelhardt

Online, on Zoom, open to all

How do we love a bruised and broken world with broken hearts? This moment calls for a deep, engaged, and sustainable compassion for self and others. Together, participants will explore spiritual and cognitive strategies for resilience, care, and living our shared values in challenging times. Through reflection, practice, and shared learning, this cohort will help build a community grounded in compassion and love.

Constellations of Religious Education

Facilitated by Mx. Katharine Childs and CB Beal

Online, on Zoom, open to professional religious educators, including those curious about LREDA membership

Religious educators across Unitarian Universalism are navigating a rapidly changing landscape shaped by evolving needs, limited resources, and deep commitment to the communities they serve. This cohort offers space for connection, mutual support, imagination, and discernment as participants reflect together on the future of religious education in UU congregations and beyond.

Fat Liberation in a Time of Body Fascism

Facilitated by Rev. Ian W. Riddell and Rev. Dr. Jamie W. Johnson

Online, on Zoom, open to all

This cohort introduces participants to the principles of fat liberation and explores their connection to UU values and justice work. Through shared learning and discussion, participants will examine body fascism, healthism, implicit bias, and the intersections of bodies, theology, and social justice. The cohort welcomes both people in larger bodies and allies seeking deeper understanding and practical ways to foster more liberatory communities.

An Update About the Salem, Oregon Gathering Site

The UU Congregation of Salem, Oregon will no longer participate in General Assembly 2026 as an official satellite site and will instead continue as a local community gathering host.

This change comes at the congregation’s request as they reassessed what level of participation would work best for their community this year.

While Salem will no longer function as a satellite site with formal UUA logistical support, the congregation still plans to gather locally during General Assembly and welcomes participants to connect in community there.

Anyone currently registered for the Salem satellite site will be contacted directly with additional information, including options for transferring to another satellite location if desired.

We are grateful to Rev. Monica Jacobson and the UU Congregation of Salem for their partnership and flexibility as we continue shaping this new model for General Assembly together.

UUA Benefit Plans & Services — Same Team, Broader Support

We have a new name — and an expanded mission.

UUA Benefit Plans & Services (BPS) is your values-aligned partner for retirement, health coverage, life and disability insurance, and now property & casualty insurance — all designed for UU organizations.

Whether managing benefits for staff or protecting your organization’s buildings, BPS is here to help you focus on ministry and mission.

Visit our virtual booth or find us at our tabletop in Louisville. Learn more: uua.org/benefitplans

Hugh Dennis, Director, Benefit Plans & Services

Gloria Guldager, Retirement Plan Director

Jennifer Markewitz, Insurance Plans Director

UUA Benefit Plans & Services

benefitplans@uua.org | uua.org/benefitplans

June 8: The Gathering – Declarations of Democracy

Promotional graphic for “The Gathering,” featuring a large yellow circular shape over a black-and-white photo of a classical building with columns and statues. Text inside the circle reads: “the gathering,” “Declarações de Democracia y Mercado,” “Monday, June 8,” and “8pm ET / 5pm PT.” Logos for Side With Love and the Unitarian Universalist Association appear at the bottom.

On June 8th at 8:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 p.m. PT the Gathering will engage with the 250th anniversary of the United States and the prophetic call this moment places before us as people of faith.

Our spiritual traditions remind us that prophecy is not about predicting what will come but courageously speaking truth into the present and calling new worlds into being.

As we mark this milestone in U.S. history, let us ask: What are we building for the future of democracy? Through declaration, witness, and action, we join in the sacred work of building a democracy that serves us all. Register to join.

Connect with the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) during GA!

Visit our virtual booth to learn more about how you can partner with us to advance justice here in the US and around the world through membership, advocacy initiatives, and connecting UUSC with your congregation. You can also check out our on-demand workshops with UUSC staff: So You Want to Organize for Trans Liberation and Solidarity Initiative: Immigration Updates and Tools for Engagement; Learn more at uusc.org.

UUA Board Shares Perspective on Proposed Bylaw Amendment and Resolution

The UUA Board of Trustees has discussed the two business items currently on the agenda for General Assembly 2026.

After discussion, the Board concluded that it cannot support the proposed bylaw amendment regarding authority to place a minister’s search on hold. The Board believes there are important governance, accountability, and ministerial fellowship considerations that delegates should weigh carefully as they consider this proposal. These considerations will be discussed during the mini assembly, in the online discussion forum (discuss.uua.org), and during General Assembly deliberations.

In addition, the proposed amendment would place detailed procedural requirements in the Association’s bylaws at a time when the Bylaws Renewal Team is working to simplify and clarify the bylaws and reduce procedural detail where appropriate.

At the same time, the Board recognizes that this item was properly brought forward through the Association’s petition process. The Board affirms the importance of a fair, thoughtful, and open deliberative process at General Assembly.

With respect to the proposed business resolution concerning a task force for Ministerial Fellowship Committee policies and rules for Interim and Developmental Ministers, the Board has chosen to remain neutral as delegates consider this proposal.

The Board encourages delegates to participate fully in the opportunities for discussion and discernment leading up to and during General Assembly, including the mini-assembly on May 28, the online discussion forum, and GA business sessions.

View the GA final business agenda