VERO BEACH — For the first time in Florida UU District history, the Unitarian Universalist Annual Assembly will blend with the annual Florida District Choral Festival, gathering in Vero Beach at the UU Fellowship the weekend of April 25-27.
In celebration of a new regional cooperation, this will also be the first collaborative assemblies of all four Southern Region districts, meeting at the same time in Vero Beach; Roswell, Ga. (Mid-South District); Raleigh, N.C. (Southeast District); and Dallas, Texas (Southwestern UU Conference).
Shared elements will be featured, such as the theme, “Love Reaches Out” – the same theme that will drive events at the June 2014 UUA General Assembly in Providence, R.I.
Using state-of-the-art technology, there will be a simultaneous broadcast to each assembly of UUA Moderator Jim Key’s keynote address. The moderator is the highest volunteer position in the Unitarian Universalist Association, the chief governance officer for the Association.
Welcoming participants will be Rev. Kenneth Gordon Hurto – former Florida District Executive, now Southern Region Executive Lead – and UUFVB minister Rev. Scott Alexander.
Ministers from Florida’s 48 UU congregations will be conferring on Thursday and Friday.
The Annual Assembly will begin Friday afternoon with reception, dinner, worship, and a Q&A session with the Florida District Board, UUA Stewardship Consultant Bill Clontz and Maggie Lovins, Southern Region Congregational Life Consultant.
Workshops, worship and an address by UUA Growth Strategy Specialist Tandi Rogers are scheduled for Saturday.
Singers from a number of UU Florida congregations will spend Saturday rehearsing for Sunday’s worship service. With Earth Day falling since its 1970 designation on April 22 (this year the Tuesday before the Festival), several Festival anthems will pay homage to the celebration – “Earth Song,” “Voices of Earth,” “Blue Boat Home” and “Angel’s Butterfly.”
The Festival performance at 10 a.m. Sunday is open to the community.
The UU Fellowship, offering a liberal religion on the Treasure Coast, has easy parking and is handicap accessible. It is located at 1590 27th Avenue on the southeast corner of 27th Avenue and 16th Street.
For more information, call (772) 778-5880.
