This past weekend, 20 UUCFers were among the nearly 5,000 Unitarian Universalists who gathered in Providence, RI, for our annual General Assembly (GA). UUCFers are always well represented at GA, with many of us soaking up fellowship and learning and worship together. (Click here to get a flavor of this year's gathering.)

This year we also led the way on a key social justice issue. Longtime UUCFer Bob Hatfield was there, representing our gun violence prevention group and presenting an Action of Immediate Witness (AIW) to the delegates encouraging every congregation to get involved in stopping gun violence. The AIW uses our UUCF Congregational Resolution on Gun Violence passed in 2013 as an example, as well as similar ones from the Mt. Vernon and Accotink (Burke) UU churches.

The AIW process takes a huge amount of work. Delegates vote on which AIWs to support. Bob and the rest of the AIW team were there both behind the scenes and front and center advocating for this work that UUCF has done so faithfully. The AIW team included UUCF members Peter Krone, Linda Rothbart, Wini Atlas and Steve Gold, former member Craig Goff, and members of other UU churches in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Florida. You can see Bob's presentation to the delegates here, beginning at about 12:30 on the video. Bob reminded the delegates of the series of terrible tragedies we have witnessed in just the last couple of years. He challenged them to take up the cry: "Not one more." And he told them, "We can do this! It is in your hands to make a difference. You won't be alone."

On Friday, the delegates voted to support the gun violence prevention AIW. Just yesterday, the delegates voted to formally affirm it, making this statement an official part of our national social justice witness. It has now become a permanent resource for the more than 1,000 congregations in our association. You can watch the final vote here - the discussion and vote starts at about 31 minutes.

I want to thank Bob and the gun violence prevention group for their leadership, and our whole congregation for supporting this effort, which isn't quick and isn't easy. But it is so important. May we keep at it and keep the faith, for the sake of our children and for all people.