Many people who I encounter have a fascination about church politics. I am often asked how I became the minister of this church, whether some UU Pope or some other powerful ecclesiastical group, placed me here and whether they might whisk me up for service elsewhere. With a chuckle, trying to envision what a UU Pope might wear, I explain that Unitarian Universalist congregations are governed by democratic polity. Here at Channing Memorial Church we have an elected Board of Governors and members of the congregation make all major decisions through the democratic process. So instead of being assigned here, the congregation voted to call me as the settled minister and I accepted the call.

The Unitarian Universalist Association is also governed through congregational polity. The UUA Board is elected by the member congregations. All major decisions are made through the democratic process at General Assemblies, which occur each year in June. GA 2003 will be held in Boston. I hope that many of you will take advantage of the proximity of the event, which promises to be a banner year with the high concentration of UU congregations as well as the opportunity to visit many UU historical sites.

Each congregation has a number of delegates to General Assembly based upon the number of members. For example, as a congregation with 170 members, Channing Memorial Church can have as many as ______ delegates to General Assembly. There is no limit to the number of people from each church that can attend GA but only the delegates receive voting cards empowering them to vote during the Plenary Sessions.

Now I must warn you that if you decide to go to General Assembly, you might get hooked! I know many people who once they went to their first GA were more than willing to travel across the country the following year and the one after that to experience the variety of workshops, speakers, worship services, and the rush of being with thousands of like-minded and yet incredibly diverse people who share your enthusiasm about liberal religion.

One of the most engaging processes at General Assembly is that of the Commission on Social Witness. Through presentation, lively debate and voting the delegates adopt Statements of Conscience and Study/Action Issues. Picture a large convention hall with row after row of seating, a stage with a large chalice backdrop, a podium and panel of speakers, and large screens throughout the auditorium enlarging the speaker to a talking head. Congregations, districts and other coalitions make formal proposals to the Assembly ahead of time, some examples of Study/Action issues include: "An Alternative to the War on Drugs", "Responsible Consumption as a Moral Imperative", and

There are three microphones set-up: one labeled "PRO", one labeled "CON" and a procedural mike. The Moderator facilitates a lively and respectful debate about the pro's and con's of each issue before the whole assembly votes to adopt a position either as a public statement or as a topic worthy of further study. Now perhaps you understand better the joke about the Unitarian Universalist who would rather go to a discussion about Heaven than go to Heaven itself.

Today, I am sharing with you a little bit about the Social Witness process because it is an important part of who we are as Unitarian Universalists. We do not have an ecclesiastical hierarchy sending us tomes about our religious practice or beliefs. Instead we are a part of an Association with other Unitarian Universalist congregations who through a lively process bring forward issues we feel are timely and significant for us to publicly articulate our views and through further study would enrich our spiritual lives.

"Civil Liberties" was adopted by delegates at General Assembly in Quebec City, Quebec, to be the 2002-2004 Study/Action Issue. This means UU congregations "are invited to engage themselves in two years of study and action with programs of discussion, public witness, service, education, advocacy, and community organization". Channing Memorial Church does not currently have an active Denominational Affairs committee so this may be the first time you have ever even heard of this process let alone this issue! However, "Civil Liberties" is a complex and timely issue worthy of our consideration.

These days we are flooded with information from so many different sources: newspapers, magazines, cable television, the Internet, as well as from family members, colleagues and friends. It is possible to become overwhelmed with our culture of diverse and contradictory opinions. Our liberal religious faith encourages each one of us to develop critical thinking skills, to respect the opinions of others, and to continuously seek greater understanding. After all the UU Principles state that "We affirm and promote a free and responsible search for truth and meaning; the right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and society at large."

I have been enjoying considering the issue of Civil Liberties over the past month. My thinking has been enriched through conversation with Lee Tolman as we met several times to discuss this Study/Action Issue and share both our thoughts and resources that we had discovered. The primary issue as it reads in the Resource Packet is "What can Unitarian Universalists do to protect civil liberties, against government violation in the name of 'homeland security', and in the wars against terrorism and drugs?" This led us to weigh both the risks to security and when our government went to far in violating the rights of citizens for example the Japanese interment and the McCarthy hearings. We discussed the timely and highly-charged question:

"Are there some civil liberties that people should be prepared to give up in a time of war?"

Since the terrorist attacks of September 11th, policies and practices to do with the civil liberties of American citizens and non-citizen residents have changed significantly. It is our responsibility as American citizens and Unitarian Universalists to become as informed as possible about these developments and to speak out when the freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights are being violated. We can do this by sharing resources for study and action and then being advocates either as individuals or as a congregation. The Christian Coalition has certainly shown the power of advocating from their perspective. In partnership with one another and other organizations, we too can be a powerful voice for freedom and justice.