Having fortified ourselves with veggie lasagna and sticky toffee pudding, we repaired to the Queens Room, where yours truly put in a word for the Future of the GA Zette survey and meeting at 2pm on Sunday – thanks to the 50+ people who have taken part already! Rev. Winnie Gordon then introduced our keynote speaker, theologian Alison Webster of Modern Church.

Alison spoke of ‘Neon Gods and Organic Resistance’, inviting us to listen to and contemplate Paul Simon’s classic song, ‘The Sound of Silence’, discussing it with our neighbours, then moving on to contemplate the state of today’s world and how we can resist those trends. She picked up Liz Slade’s earlier theme from Plenary I of the interconnectedness of the world and our society, using mycelium as an example – for more on this line of thought, I recommend Bayo Akomolafe’s work: What Miracles Allude To (he was the keynote speaker at the ‘Leading into the Future’ international Unitarian event in Prague in 2023).

After a refreshingly hopeful end to her discussion, we decamped en masse to the bar for some actual refreshment; I sat with Alison and some friends, and watched many attendees approach her and thank her for her inspiring words. Here’s a link if you’d link to know more of her work: Thinking Beyond An Apocalypse

Quote of the day: “I like debating with orthodox Christians, it’s like going for a mental jog, or maybe mental Muay Thai [kickboxing].”