Report From The CUUPS Board Of Trustees
General Assembly 2009, Salt Lake City, Utah

Four members of the CUUPS Board of Trustees attended General Assembly in Salt Lake City, Utah, from June 24 through June 28, 2009. Those in attendance included Maureen Duffy-Boose and David Pollard, CUUPS-Continental Co-Presidents, Michael Walker, CUUPS-Continental Secretary, and the Rev. Ann Marie Alderman, CUUPS-Continental Ministerial Liaison. CUUPS had a booth (pictured above) in the Exhibit Hall, where mini-rituals and mini-workshops were held to explain some of the basics of Paganism to those who might inquire. At the booth was set up the "Talking Altar", a basic Pagan altar setup with explanations of the meaning and purpose of each item placed thereon. The booth was also a place for renewal and institution of both individual and chapter memberships. Additionally, once again this year we shared our booth space with the Unitarian Universalists for Jewish Awareness (UUJA), in a further move towards interaction and cooperation with other former IAs of theological focus. On Saturday, the 27th of June, our Annual Summer Solstice Ritual was held on the grounds of the Salt Palace. In addition, we had members of the CUUPS Board of Trustees who spoke with members of the Commission on Appraisal in a private meeting, and also voiced their thoughts in several Plenaries about issues of interest to Pagan-identified UUs. Here is a report on those activities and on some of our reflections and experiences at this year's General Assembly.

All photos in this article were taken either by Maureen Duffy-Boose or Imari Kariotis, are the property of CUUPS-Continental, and may be neither copied, disseminated, nor reproduced, without the express written permission of CUUPS-Continental

(Here is a copy of the ritual as it was presented. Chants are in blue, information in boldface, instructions for future presenters are in italics. This ritual is intended to be freely shared amongst members and chapters of CUUPS-Continental and associated Unitarian Universalist Congregations.)

Entrance (with drumming) Come, brothers, come, to the Radiant Sun, Ooo-ooo-ooo-ooh, Horned One! (brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, people, until all are in circle)

Cleansing and Charging: (chanted while smudge stick and water are carried around) Air I am, Fire I am, Water, Earth and Spirit I am!

(Here was given the first teaching section of the ritual, an explanation of the wonderful fact that Salt Lake City lies in a magical circle, with the canyons with their roaring winds to the East, the Desert fires to the South, the Great Salt Lake to the West, and the lush fertile farmlands and orchards to the North, centered by the headquarters of the Mormon Church, the home of the Ute Tribes and their spiritual practice, a Buddhist Temple, a Catholic Cathedral and many other houses of Spirit. We also explained that in the custom of Toteg Tribe, where each of the festivals is honored in its particular direction, the calling of directions and invocation of spirit as well as the casting of the circle would begin in the South. Finally, it was explained that in Toteg practice as well as in the customs of UU Paganism, where many individual Gods and Goddesses are honored, we would be honoring in this ritual the Divine Family of Mother Earth, Father Sky, Our Brother the Sun and Our Sister the Water.)

Calling the Directions:
We call the Spirit of the South, Utah desert, summer sun, the heat and fire of the Will.
We call the Spirit of the West, Great Salt Lake, waters of the Jordan River, flow of feeling.
We call the Spirit of the North, lush fertile gardens and orchards of Logan and Weber County.
We call the Spirit of the East, canyon winds, sunrise, enlightenment.
We call the Spirit of Center, the rich spiritual heritage of the LDS church, Temple Square, the Cathedral Of The Madeleine, the Native American faiths, and all the many additional faiths that have made this place a center of diversity in religious thought.

Circle Casting (Chant as people take hands, one at a time, to create Sacred Space)

We are a circle, within a Circle, With no beginning and never-ending.

As we have moved Sunwise to cast our circle, so we now come to center. and will reverse our direction, and move widdershins, to create a spiral as we call upon the Seven Spirits of Life to lend their energies to this Sacred Space. As we call the Seven Spirits, we will build, from the Center, the Rainbow Wheel to encircle us in this place.

The Spirits Of The Rainbow ~ An Invocation
Based On the Seven Principles of Unitarian Universalism
composed by Leslie Gaul Hugo, South Valley CUUPS, Salt Lake City, Utah

Red (facing South) We call the Spirit of Democracy, that we may promote equal and just processes in our society and our congregations. We ask you to be with us and share with us your guidance.

Orange (facing southeast) We call the Spirits of Worth and Dignity, that we may always recognize the goodness and value that every individual possesses. We ask you to be with us and share with us your guidance.

Yellow (facing east) We call the Spirit of Truth, that we may continue the responsible search for truth and meaning in our spiritual journey. We ask you to be with us and share with us your guidance.

Green (facing north) We call the Spirits of Acceptance and Encouragement, that we may have the courage to energize the spiritual growth of others, whatever spiritual path they may be on. We ask you to be with us and share with us your guidance.

Blue (facing northwest) We call the Spirits of Peace and Liberty, that we may be a shining example to the world of these qualities, and continue to work to establish to all peoples of the world. We ask you to be with us and share with us your guidance.

lndigo (facing west) We call the Spirit of Respect, that we may appreciate and show consideration for all life, in the web of all existence. We ask you to be with us and share with us your guidance.

Violet (facing southwest) We call the Spirits of Justice and Compassion, that we may have understanding and sympathy in dealing with all people. We ask you to be with us and share with us your guidance.

Priestess: Now then, we have called upon the Seven Spirits, and we shall now sing together to invoke the presence of that which encompasses All, the Spirit of Life:

Invocation (after the Spirit Calling)

Spirit of Life, come unto me.
Sing in my heart all the stirrings of compassion.
Blow in the wind, rise in the sea;
Move in the hand, giving life the shape of justice.
Roots hold me close; wings set me free;
Spirit of Life, come to me, come to me.

Create The Presence of Deity (We chose to permit each participant to invoke Deity in their own words and in their own fashion, therefore no scripted words are available for the calling of the Four Deities. The chant which accompanied each calling followed the words of the person doing the Invocation, and was sung by all participants in circle.)

Calling of Mother Earth After the calling of the Goddess as Mother Earth, we chanted:

The Earth is our Mother, we will take care of Her (2x)
He yana ho yana hey na na, He yana ho yana hey na na
Her sacred ground we walk upon with every step we take (2x)
He yana ho yana hey na na, He yana ho yana hey na na

Calling of Father Sky After the calling of the God as Father Sky, we will sing:

The Sky is our Father, we will give thanks to Him (2x)
He yana ho yana hey na na, He yana ho yana hey na na
His sacred Life we draw within with every breath we take (2x)
He yana ho yana hey na na, He yana ho yana hey na na

Calling of Our Brother the Sun and Lighting of the Chalice (taken from "Singing The Promise")

Flame of fire, spark of the universe,
that warmed our ancestral hearth-
agent of life and death,
symbol of truth and freedom.
We strive to understand ourselves,
and our earthly home. -Leslie Pohl-Kosbau

All respond "Hail and Welcome!"

Calling of Sister Water (Here was a second teaching moment, as we explained that in the High Desert of Utah, the greatest gift of the Gods is water. Therefore at the Summer Solstice, we invoke the loving presence of Sister Water to dance in harmony with her Brother the Sun, mitigate his scorching rays, and thereby ensure that at the First Harvest, the crops will have ripened rather than burning to a crisp. Water was poured into the chalice around the base of the burning candle that represented Brother Sun as we chanted)

Born of water, cleansing, powerful, Healing, changing, we are.

(For the final teaching moment of the rite, the following explanation was given by the Priestesses:
"Since we are living on Mother Earth and under the blessing of Father Sky, and we need our Brother the Sun and our Sister the Water, we are not going to be "dismissing" the Deities or "opening" the circle. Instead, as we here in Salt Lake City know that we walk around each day, all day, in a magical, living circle, we invite each of you who are here to carry the blessing of Mother Earth and Father Sky and the sacred Circle of Life with you from this place. Salt is used for preservation of things, and the salt we have here has been gathered from the Great Salt Lake with our own hands, and is in its natural state. This salt is a reminder for us of the reason we do ritual, in order to preserve sacred and special things, our lives, our Pagan faiths, our planet, our UU principles, and all that we know and love. So take with you this salt to remind you of the blessings of Love and Life, and of the things worth preserving in our lives. " At this point each participant was given a bag of natural fiber filled with Great Salt Lake salt to take with them as a token of the blessings of Father Sky, Mother Earth, Brother Sun and Sister Water, and a reminder of the sacredness of those things worthy of preservation.)

Closing Chant

The circle is open, yet unbroken,
Merry meet and merry part and merry meet again.

NOTE: The CUUPS Annual Membership Meeting was scheduled, after a scheduled lunch break, for Saturday afternoon, June 27th, immediately following the Ritual. However, the plenary that was being held immediately following the Summer Solstice Ritual was extended three times, and went far over its allotted time slot. Those who were able to gather at the announced time for the CUUPS Annual Membership Meeting came to consensus that the absence of the voices of people who were delegates and therefore were committed to be in the Plenaries was unacceptable. Therefore, the Annual Membership Meeting was rescheduled for 10:30 AM on the following day, Sunday, directly after Morning Worship. The meeting was held at that time. The Minutes of that meeting are below.

Present: Maureen (Aisling) Duffy-Boose (presiding), Imari Kariotis, Rayna Hamre, Stephanie Ann Blythe, Jeffrey Leuschen (non-mbr), David Pollard, Sylvia Wheeler, Cindy Hart, Mike Hart, Lisa Maxwell, Terra Collier-Young, Maggi Joseph, Dave Taylor, Rev. Ann Marie Alderman, Heather Cleland-Host, Wayne King, Susan Eckert, Michael Walker (recording)

1. Open meeting at 10:30 am MDT
2. Check-in
   Each CUUPS member and guest present introduced themselves by name, congregation and chapter (if applicable).
   Quorum was not reached; this meeting received reports and had discussion. No business was voted upon.
3. Officer Reports
   1. President Maureen Duffy-Boose
      • Recommend all members join CUUPSTERS list on Yahoo.
      • Disaffiliation with UUA has had several effects, including misinformation about our existence, and loss of GA programming slots (annual meeting, ritual, and possibly workshops). We are working on bringing CUUPS back above the horizon.
      • We discussed our collective wish to have congregations sponsor program slots for future CUUPS programming, to be paid for by CUUPS.
   2. Vice President David Pollard
      • David is editor of CUUPS Bulletin, an electronic newsletter. Need more submissions of content for newsletter. Next Bulletin will contain GA report, and what is going on in the Fall.
      • Lance Brown is working with us on a membership database, CiviCRM.
      • David reported on loss of old archives and paper records, due to Hurricane Katrina. David is collecting old CUUPS documents from various members, to archive and digitize for preservation.
      • Besides CUUPS Chapters, some UU Pagans have organized as Adult Religious Education course, or Small Group Ministries, or other formats. CUUPS needs to update how it interacts with the programs that are not organized as a chapter. Also, we discussed a suggestion that we approach incoming UUA President, Rev. Morales, for diplomatic relations.
      • We are seeking a website designer, especially if they are fluent in PHP.
   3. Secretary Michael Walker
      • Desert Dwellers Oasis (DDO-CUUPS, represented by Imari Kariotis), a CLF CUUPS chapter, has graciously agreed to serve as Nominating Committee.
      • Celestial Celebrations Circle of First Unitarian Church of San Antonio, TX (represented at Annual Meeting by Maggi Joseph & Sylvia Wheeler) have agreed to serve as Polling Committee. Maggi has agreed to coordinate this task.
      • A White Paper is in progress, to go to all Unitarian Universalist ministers and congregational leaders, to re-educate them about our purpose and practices, and to dispel myths about UU Pagans and CUUPS.
   4. Ministerial Liaison, Rev. Ann Marie Alderman
      • Noted that there are many potential supporters who identify as "earth-based," but do not use the word "Pagan." There are also many ministers who realize that some listening on Sunday mornings are Pagan, and that attention needs to be paid to their spiritual needs . Her focus as a Trustee is to ensure that UUs, Pagans, chapters and congregations, all stay in right relations. She encourages Pagans to be active in their congregations, not just the CUUPS chapter.
4. New Business
   1. Nominations
      • Imari announced that the three people they had approached have backed out for personal reasons. We discussed putting out a call for nominations on the BULLETIN, CUUPSTERS, etc. The Board will then put forth the nominees ASAP.
   2. Convocation
      • Michael volunteered to convene a volunteer planning committee, to coordinate rituals, workshops, perhaps a guest speaker.
      • Financial matters are an issue for many people. We talked about having District Convos for CUUPSters.
      • Start email address, convo@cuups.org, as a contact point (which will go to Michael, and anyone else who joins planning committee.) Imari volunteered to be on committee; Rayna will seek.
   3. Definition of Unitarian Universalist Pagan
      • We discussed what this means, and how to get that information out to the wider Pagan community, including at festivals.
5. Adjourned at 10:25 am MDT.

Respectfully submitted,
Michael Walker
CUUPS Secretary

Rev. Ann Marie Alderman, CUUPS-Continental Ministerial Liaison: First, let me share that I love going to General Assembly just to soak up the energy from 3,000 plus UU's worshipping together! I go to hear and be inspired by the best of the best UU sermons. I particularly loved the Rev. Dr. Mary J. Harrington's touching and poetic message during the Service of the Living Tradition and the Rev. Abhi Janamanchi's delightful and provocative sermon during the Sunday Service. This year I must add that I was just as thrilled, energized and inspired by the CUUPS worship service! Every piece of the ritual was explained, and much of it was related to the principles. In my opinion, it was UU pagan ritual at its best. It was delightful to watch as more and more folks who seemed to be just passing by joined in the circle. Bravo to the ritual leaders, who reached not only my intellect, but met my need for movement, sound, smell and touch.

Secondly, I came to General Assembly sure that the earnest work of the dedicated members of the Commission on Appraisal would be accepted. In both of the congregations I have served in the past three years, I led small groups of congregational members through the multi-session workshops that the COA provided. It became clear in those workshops that the intent (and I think "genius") of the UUA bylaws calling for a regular (every 15 year) review of Article II was so that we as UU's remember that "revelation" is not sealed, that human beings create the language, words and symbols that we use. We should never forget that language, words and symbols have the power to shape our reality, but that we are ultimately the "myth makers"! When our loyalty is to words, rather than to a continually renewed understanding of that which lies beyond the words that has value for us as a faith community, we risk lapsing into creedalism, freezing "truth" to a point in the distant past! Obviously, the current principles and sources still speak with a power that elicits a mighty affirmation from most of us! So, be it!

Thirdly, before ever arriving at General Assembly this year, I have been continually surprised by just how many normally well-informed UU's seemed so unaware of the work that the COA has been doing since January 2006! Not unlike the several year movement toward re-structuring the status and the relationship to former affiliate organizations, such as CUUPS, the process of the reviewing Article II obviously never reached the everyday conversation of the majority of UU members. So, again, I have to say bravo for what I perceive as the current movement that is underway within our Association of Congregations for improved connections with each other, for sending elected and informed representatives to General Assemblies in the future, and for former affiliates to be in direct, meaningful and right relationship with local congregations.

General Assembly is always for me this wonderful combination of finding yourself reflected in so many others, while at the very same time being very aware of the immense and stimulating difference among "us". It is the local congregation times at least 300!

Maureen Duffy-Boose (Aisling), CUUPS-Continental President: My first impression of this year's General Assembly was the amazing difference in so many aspects of preparation, because this year it was here, in my home town. The vicissitudes of moving and transporting, for example, the items for the CUUPS booth and the altar for the Annual Summer Solstice Ritual, as well as my own ability for the first time to share my GA experience with non-UU Pagan friends, to bring my own chair to sit in, so avoiding going home ill every single night from the Exhibit Hall, the ability to hear or read the words of my own Minister, Rev. Sean Parker Dennison, in worship services, as well as those of many other local UU friends...well, let me say that the location of this year's GA added, for me, an amazing and somehow holy resonance to the entire experience. I was so eager to show off my home state to my visiting friends, so eager to make the cultural and religious heritage of Utah part of the ritual, the booth experience, the mini-rituals and workshops... I believe it is accurate to say that this GA was, for me, unlike any other I have attended since I became a UU in 2002. I am so very proud to be a Utah Pagan...and yes, all over the country people are constantly wondering whether or not there is any such thing. I think we made a statement about that, at this year's GA, that might resonate with other people for some time.

I was also very inspired and invigorated by our once again having the opportunity to share our booth with the members of the UUJA. I am very excited about the conversations I have had with Arthur Thexton and the Rev. Marti Keller, sharing and contrasting our theological understandings, discussing in depth the place of affiliate groups in Unitarian Universalism and how the ending of the Independent Affiliate status has, or has not, impacted our ability to serve our respective target populations...and, of course, our ongoing (three years now!) discussion on the Shekhinah, Her Gracious Presence in the core of Judaism and Her Goddess-Self in Paganism, and how those two streams of thought might be able to join in a confluence which has the distinct capability of producing some kind of larger understanding for all of us. Keep looking, because we are thinking seriously of doing something on this topic for GA 2010.

Finally, my GA experience this year was unlike any other I have had, simply because of the much larger arenas into which my church in the past years has carried its message of conscience-driven activism, most particularly the "Standing on the Side of Love" campaign. As a member not only of the National Board of CUUPS, but also a National Officer of the Pagan Pride Project and a local representative for the Utah Pride Interfaith Coalition, I have been much occupied in the past years with issues of civil and religious liberties and rights for both Pagans and GLBTQ individuals, couples, and families. To see members of the church I belong to speaking out in rallies on the grounds of the city offices and the state capitol during GA was an amazing experience, and reminded me that the world outside Utah has its eye on us here, and that we are a part of something much bigger than ourselves. I went away from this year's General Assembly invigorated, impressed and inspired in so many ways. Some of you reading this are part of the reason I have those feelings now. Thank you.

David Pollard, CUUPS-Continental Vice President/Co-President: Over the past several years as Paganism had found greater acceptance among UU congregations and society at large, some had wondered if CUUPS was really needed anymore. This General Assembly answered that question. The role we played in the discussion over the changes to the Principles and Purposes put to rest concerns about the relevance for having an organized voice for Earth-Centered concerns within Unitarian Universalism.

* The past few GA's, the persistent topic of discussion with members was about how to keep or regain our Affiliate Status, often to the exclusion of issues that were more central to our reason to being there. We seem to finally be past that now - and it is a relief.

* We've got a new UUA President who seems more interested in listening to us than the past couple were.

* We played well with others. At General Assembly, CUUPS members along with UU-Humanists and many others worked hard to make known our concerns about the deeply flawed restatement of the UU Sources. The delegates heard us and narrowly voted down the Principles & Purposes restatement.

* Saturday evening there was a dinner for folks from liturgically Earth-centered UU Congregations. Hopefully, this will become an annual event.

* The CUUPS Solstice ritual at General Assembly received rave reviews and continued the high standard of GA rituals that our chapters strive to maintain.

* Rather than just acknowledging that "change" was necessary, we actually got people to volunteer for specific projects that will help change CUUPS for the better. Over the next several months we should begin to see the fruit from some of these projects.

* The discussion is no longer about whether we should do another Convocation, but how it is to be accomplished.

* It is fascinating to see how our members and friends are manifesting Earth-centered spirituality within their churches and fellowships. More and more often this is taking place thru direct participation in congregational life, rather than only thru a chapter.

In contrast to the past few GA's where we had to scramble to come up with a silver lining to present to you, on the whole, this was a very positve General Assembly for us, and it has given us strong momentum to do even better in Minneapolis in 2010. If it is at all feasible for you to attend GA there next year - I would urge you to start making your plans now - we are. Best of Blessings, and see you at GA 2010!!