One of the most meaningful yet sometimes overlooked events at the Unitarians’ General Assembly each year, in a week packed with meaningful events, is the Chief Officer’s report. This report can help focus the work of our congregations by highlighting key themes that affect Unitarians and Unitarian congregations across the movement. Day to day, we can feel like a set of disparate churches, chapels, and fellowships. The Chief Officer’s report reminds us that we are connected, that we often wrestle with similar issues, and that we can and should lean on each other as we engage in the challenging work of ministering to a broken world.
This year, Chief Officer Liz Slade emphasised three themes that impact the Unitarian movement:
(1) the need to nurture a growing population of people in the world who consider themselves “non-religious” but have “a huge appetite for spiritual community,”
(2) the challenge posed by many Unitarian congregations that are both shrinking and ageing, (3) the existential threat of the climate crisis.
Liz’s report is essential reading for all Unitarians. It was published in The Inquirer newspaper Issue 8059 on 13 May 2023. Check it out here.
Photos: Unitarian General Assembly, photo by Aaron Scott Richards ©