Visionary. Journalist. Changemaker. Imara Jones is Our 2025 Ware Lecturer.
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Each year, the UUA President invites a visionary leader to share their wisdom as the Ware Lecturer at General Assembly—and we’re thrilled to announce that Imara Jones will take the stage in 2025! An award-winning journalist, thought-leader, and changemaker, Imara is known for challenging conventional thinking and inspiring bold action to transform our world.
Imara, whose work has won Emmy and Peabody Awards, is the creator of TransLash Media, a cross-platform journalism, personal storytelling and narrative project, which produces content to shift the current culture of hostility towards transgender people in the US. As part of her work at TransLash, Imara hosts the WEBBY-nominated,  TransLash Podcast with Imara Jones as well as the investigative, limited series, The Anti-Trans Hate Machine: A Plot Against Equality. In 2020 Imara was featured on the cover of Time Magazine as part of its New American Revolution special edition. In 2019 she chaired the first-ever UN High Level Meeting on Gender Diversity with over 600 participants. Imara’s work as a host, on-air news analyst, and writer focuses on the full-range of social justice and equity issues. Imara was also the first Journalist-in-Residence at WNYC’s The Greene Space where she hosted the monthly program Lives At Stake. Imara has been featured regularly in The Guardian, The Nation, MSNBC, CNBC, NPR, Mic, and Colorlines. Imara has held economic policy posts in the Clinton White House and communications positions at Viacom. Imara holds degrees from the London School of Economics and Columbia. Imara is a 2021 Nathan Cummings Foundation Fellow and a 2019 Soros Equality Fellow. She was appointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio to serve on the New York City Commission on Gender Equity. She also serves on the boards of the Transgender Law Center, Anti-violence Project, GLSEN, the LGBTQ+ Museum, and the New Pride Agenda. Imara is also part of the Move to End Violence. She goes by the pronouns she/her.
The Ware Lecture is Saturday, June 21at 7:00 pm ET / 6:00 pm CT / 5:00 pm MT / 4:00 pm PT. To witness this extraordinary moment, be sure to register for General Assembly. Your registration gives you access to the live-streamed lecture and on-demand video—don’t miss this opportunity to be moved, challenged, and inspired! |
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Strengthen Your Congregation – Strengthen Your Faith
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Meet the Moment:Â Connect. Inspire. Transform.
GA workshops and sessions offer practical tools to help your congregation thrive—whether you’re growing membership, boosting stewardship, or engaging volunteers. Learn from congregations nationwide, develop leadership skills, and bring back fresh energy to your community. GA is an investment in the future of your congregation. Be part of the movement – register now. |
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GA 2025 Updated Health & Safety Policy
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Grounded in the 2024 Action of Immediate Witness calling us to center the needs of the most vulnerable, the UUA has developed a health and safety policy for in-person participation at General Assembly 2025. The policy is informed by public health advisors, accessibility advocates, and lessons learned from previous gatherings.
Key Measures:
- All attendees must have completed a full course of COVID-19 vaccination (medical exemptions allowed).
- Please take a rapid COVID test before traveling.
- Anyone with symptoms of illness should participate online.
- Masks are required at all GA-sponsored indoor events in the convention center, including the registration concourse and exhibit hall (except when actively eating or drinking).
- Masks will be available onsite.
These steps reflect our commitment to collective care, especially for disabled and immunocompromised participants. GA 2025 will also offer a robust virtual participation option, with flexible registration for in-person or online attendance. |
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Ready to Take Collective Action?
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Are you fired up about an issue that demands urgent attention? Lead Unitarian Universalists in resistance, action, and witness by submitting an Action of Immediate Witness (AIW) for the 2025 General Assembly!
AIWs are a powerful tool to mobilize our faith community around timely, critical concerns. When you propose an AIW, you help amplify our shared voice and inspire UUs across the country to act together for justice.
Submissions are due by Friday, May 12 – don’t miss your chance to spark real change. |
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Help Shape the Future: Congregational Study/Action Issue (CSAI) Process is Back!
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After a brief hiatus, the Congregational Study/Action Issue (CSAI) process is returning—and we invite your congregation to be part of it!
CSAI is a powerful tool for Unitarian Universalist congregations to come together around a common issue for study, reflection, and action over a three-year period. The goal? To deepen our collective understanding, shape Unitarian Universalist public witness, and strengthen our ability to make meaningful change in the world.
At the end of this process, delegates at General Assembly can vote to adopt a Statement of Conscience (SOC)—a formal expression of the values and policy positions of the UUA on that issue.
Feedback Sessions for Proposed CSAIs for 2025
This year, your input will help shape one of these timely and compelling CSAIs. We want to hear from you! Join us at one of our upcoming online feedback sessions to learn more, share your thoughts, and connect with others engaging these topics.
Abolition is Faith Formation
Tuesday, April 29 4:00pm PT / 5:00pm MT / 6:00pm CT / 7:00pm ET
Register here
Fat Liberation: Building Justice and Inclusion for Larger Bodies Thursday, April 17 5:00pm PT / 6:00pm MT / 7:00pm CT / 8:00pm ET Register here
Housing: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Monday, May 5 4:30pm PT / 5:30pm MT / 6:30pm CT / 7:30pm ET
Register here
Your voice is essential in shaping the UUA’s future commitments and actions. We hope you’ll join us! |
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Looking ahead to GA 2026, which format would you most prefer? (We’re exploring possibilities—your input will help shape the direction!)
Option 1:Â A fully virtual General Assembly, with all programming and business sessions online
Option 2:Â A virtual GA with business sessions online plus one large, UUA-organized national in-person gathering for worship, programming, and community
Option 3:Â A virtual GA with business sessions online plus programming resources for individuals, groups, and/or congregations who organize their own gatherings |
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Please select your preference |
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Take a moment to revisit a powerful moment from General Assembly 2021. Watch “Diamond”, a moving rendition performed by Jake Zyrus alongside youth and young adults from First Universalist Church of Minneapolis. Featured in Sunday worship that year, this performance continues to shine with beauty and resilience. |
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