Blue Boat of Youth and Young Adult MinistriesSummer Seminary Was Awesome
The weekend of August 9-11, sixteen incredible Unitarian Universalist high school students came from across the country to explore a calling to professional ministry in our faith. Summer Seminary, the first of what we hope will become a fixture of UU youth ministry for years to come, offered these youth an opportunity to ponder their own sense of calling and mission, learn about the process for applying and attending theological school, and meet with ministers, religious educators and activists to hear about their lives as religious professionals.
Participants of the 2013 Summer Seminary.
Highlights of the weekend included:
Summer Seminary participants at Harvard Divinity School
- discussion on personal call and discernment, led by Robin Bartlett,
- preaching workshop (“homiletics,” as we learned), led by Rev. Gary Smith,
- visit to Harvard Divinity School and First Parish Cambridge,
- exploratory/explanatory worship service that included three different types of worship styles,
- meeting with admissions representatives from Andover Newton Theological School,
- talking with religious professionals Rev. Laurel Hallman, Karen Bellavance-Grace and Jesse Jaeger
- Saturday evening Preach-Off event
Summer Seminary participants meet with Rev. David Pettee, UUA Ministerial Credentialing Director.
I was so inspired and impressed by the dedication to our faith, compassion and vision that these youth had at their fingertips.
Participants reflect on their personal calling.
Our time together was infused with a powerful spirit of reverence and worship. We sang, prayed, meditated and preached our way through the weekend in glorious fashion. What a spiritually grounding and uplifting experience!
Sunrise worship on the Boston Common.
It was a true a privilege to help these youth forward on their path to religious leadership; our faith movement will be stronger for their presence.
Do you wish you hadn’t missed Summer Seminary this year? Watch for news about Summer Seminary on The Blue Boat blog or check www.uua.org/summerseminary this fall, we hope to be posting updates about Summer Seminary 2014 soon!
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5 Responses to “Summer Seminary Was Awesome”Leave A Comment
You should offer this for young adults, I would love to go to Summer Seminary.
Thanks for the suggestion, Jennifer! We thought about expanding the age range this year, but didn’t have the space. In the future we are looking at a variety of ways to support young adults and college students who are thinking about ministry, including gatherings, online groups and webinars.
-Carey