Workshop VI – Executive Committee

I hadn’t made to the first EC workshop, but decided to ring the changes and attend the second, ably led by Rev. Jo James and Chief Officer Liz Slade. I’m glad I did. Sometimes, something just works, and this was a nice combination of a well-designed workshop and a great bunch of people to talk to. This really is the thing about the Annual Meetings that can’t be easily replicated any other way, the chance to meet fellow Unitarians and have these open conversations about being a Unitarian from new perspective.

The workshop ran in a ‘small group engagement’ style, beginning with centring ourselves with some gentle breathing, then starting with an interesting group exercise in which we all discussed our names and anything unusual about them, an exercise I will probably borrow for the future. Jo also mentioned the ‘Law of Two Feet’ (and indeed one foot, two wheels, two feet and a stick, it’s not specific to feet), the principle that says that if you are in an activity which is not providing you with learning or a chance to contribute, it’s perfectly okay, and indeed encouraged, for you to leave and go somewhere else.

This all comes from the ‘Art of Hosting’ training, which I had the privilege to take part in at the Wood Green Quaker Centre in Birmingham back in February 2020. I was pleased to realise that I did remember some of it other than the fact that, every day, the headlines of the break room newspapers became more and more ominous as the virus crept closer. I remember thinking ‘This is essentially the opening sequence of a horror film, except that we’re all actually living in it’. When I boarded that train home, I had the distinct feeling that it could be the last train I travelled on for a while. Happily, I didn’t know then just now long it would be. 

Grim reminiscences aside, we used another hosting technique, ‘harvesting’, where the group discusses a topic and a facilitator harvests the knowledge shared, usually by means of the trusty flipchart and pen. We discussed the virtues of our Unitarian movement, and the ‘shadow side’ of those virtues (very Jungian!), how they manifest within us in ways that aren’t helpful. Determination can be stubbornness, self-questioning can be perfectionism, individuality can become a refusal to work with others. We asked whether we had a system for managing conflict, as it’s difficult to do this when you are striving to be inclusive. A good discussion, and a good note to end the workshops on for today.

Anniversary Service – ‘What Can We Call On In Dark Times?’

Onward to one of the highlights of the Annual Meetings, the Anniversary Service, led by Rev. Maud Robinson and with choir leader Jen Hazel and organist Peter Flower. One of the highlights was story time by Rev. John Harley who manfully read the charming story ‘Everybody Needs A Rock’ despite his young son threatening to steal the show! A moving service, in which Maud spoke of her own long and deep struggles with mental health. I reflected that society truly has changed, it’s not that long that suicide and feeling suicidal were regarded as the great unspoken-of. I’m glad we have moved on from this, but there’s much more to be done.

The GA Choir gave a brilliant performance of “Lead With Love”, and it was a moving and special occasion, with space to give thanks for those on the Rolls of the General Assembly who have died in the past 12 months, recognition of ministers who have retired, and a collection for the Ministerial Students Fund. I left for the bar in a reflective mood, finding myself singing we’re all broken stones / all just trying to get home…

(Some history: Broken Stones is a song by British singer-songwriter Paul Weller that was released in 1995 as the fourth single from his third solo album Stanley Road. It reached no. 20 on the UK charts in the Autumn of 1995. The song’s idea came from a conversation he was having with his son whilst at the beach. “He was asking me where all the pebbles came from, Paul explained to journalist Daniel Rachel, “I told him we were all part of one rock before and we all got smashed down in time and splintered and sent around the earth. I don’t know if that’s true or not, scientifically, but that was my explanation to him anyway. But even if it wasn’t true, as a metaphor for us as a human race, human spirit, that we all come from one source and we just got splintered and sent round the world, there was a sense of spirituality that we’re all seeking to get back to that core again or get back home. So that spiritual element I married to the gospel accordion chords in it. It’s like an old gospel or spiritual tune to me.”)