I have been in Minneapolis for several days now, mostly engaged in ministers meetings and committee work.  But the real rush of General Assembly has begun, and I want to take a few minutes to give you a picture of this wonderful annual gathering.

My day started yesterday with a quick plenary session in which the Moderator, Gini Courter, gave us a quick overview of the processes we will use to decide business resolutions and social justice stands.  The big thing coming up is both a business and a social justice matter:  a hotly contested decision about whether we will move our 2012 General Assembly out of Arizona, to protest the immigration laws there.

Then I went to a workshop put on by the UUiCommission on Appraisal, which is beginning to collect information for its next topic for analysis:  ministerial authority.  A workshop later in the day featured the author of a new book about a family prominent in Unitarian History, the Eliots (also the family of T. S. Eliot). 

Between workshops I attended two choir rehearsals -- a choir made up of ministers and their families to sing at a service during Ministry Day and at the Service of Living Tradition.  It is amazing how many ministers can read music and perform some relatively difficult pieces after a few rehearsals.  It is always one of my joys at GA to sing with the colleagues' choir.

In the afternoon I managed to find a little time to return to my hotel room and watch the end of a soccer world cup game (my current obsession -- that's another BLOG).  And I attended a reception for ministers reaching the point in their career called Final Fellowship, in order to talk with them about Continuing Education, my last responsibility as a member of the Msnisters Association Continuing Education Committee.

The evening brought the Service of the Living Tradition, always a high point of General Assembly for me.  We honor ministers and credentialed religious educators who are beginning their careers, those entering Final Fellowship, and those retiring.  We call the names of those who have died.  There is glorious music and a good (sometimes great, and once it was awful) sermon.  And we sing "Rank by Rank Again We Stand," as the procession of honored ministers comes into the hall.  If you see tears in my eyes when we sing "Rank by Rank" it is because of my memories of this moment, year after year.

A full day, as each one is.  The only thing to do before bed is to try to find the energy to plan what to do the next day.  Actually, you can experience some of this  -- in a more restful fashion -- by visiting www.uua.org -- where plenaries and worship services are streamed and archived.