The GA Zette may not be being published throughout the GA this year, though we have a pre-GA Zette, and hopefully a post-GA Zette, but Roving Reporter is still roaming the halls of the GA, bashing out summaries of what’s happening in between plenaries, workshops, and sloping off to the swimming pool. Here’s an update on the opening worship and Plenary I.

Arrivals and Worship

We arrived at Staverton Park Hotel in glorious sunshine, many of us having done battle with the roadworks on the M1, just in time to parade our banners. It is an unfortunate reality that those of us doing the actual parading spend the first 15 minutes outside the hall grappling with recalcitrant banner poles with a metaphorical ear pressed against the door, hoping to hear a little of the opening words. Still, the banner parade is a highlight each year, and an excellent start to three days of Being A Unitarian.

Plenary 1

Our first session of the day, covering necessary business, including the need for people to actually sit down and get the meeting started on time. (Good luck getting Unitarians to do that!). After Rev. Sue Woolley (GA President’s) customarily efficient summary of the standing orders and confirmation of the steering committee, and Gavin Howell’s timely discussion of safeguarding arrangements at the meeting, we moved onto Chief Officer Liz Slade’s report. I was pleased to see her cover the latest Census 2021 statistics about belief in the UK, not least because I actually worked on the Census as Newcastle upon Tyne’s Assistant Census Liaison Manager, and it’s always nice to see your work being used. More pressingly, in the last 20 years, the percentage of people in the UK defining as ‘Christian’ has declined, and those identifying as ‘no religion’ has increased. Yet we know these ‘no religion-ers’ are very interested in spirituality – so how do we meet their needs? A challenge for us all.

After that, a moving and inspiring update on the Nightingale Centre from Colin Partington, with a charming video of children enjoying a SACHs weekend by playing in the snow (dix points to the young man whose party trick was backflipping into a snowdrift), and a tribute to the much-missed Ernest Baker aka Little Ern. David Warhurst gave the electoral report for the EC Election That Wasn’t. You need a multiple of candidates for that. Fortunately I have a load of suggestions about that, borne of several years dodging the suggestions I should be on the EC myself, which I’ll take advantage of this space to post after these reports. Grab yourself another coffee, but before that, a thank-you to Simon Bland for his updates on the new Congregational Support Toolkit – more on this later – and Gavin Howell for an update on Youth Activity, and an honourable mention to the Lindsey Press for the new book launch, ‘Cherishing the Earth’.

Update on the first two workshop sessions and John Relly Beard Lecture to follow…