VIDEO: Faith and Trust – by Libby Palmer
One assignment our Summer Seminary (#UUSumSem) program students receive is writing a 3-5 minute homily based on a prompt. On Saturday night they presented their homilies to each other, and then voted to select the five they wanted to represent their class during worship on Sunday Morning at First Unitarian Church of Oakland, CA. Here Summer Seminarian Libby Palmer imagines the future of Unitarian Universalism by examining its past, and describes a vibrant movement, strengthened by faith. Watch now as Libby Palmer Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) Summer Seminary 2016 Grad delivers her homily, “Faith and Trust”, during First Unitarian Church of Oakland, CA. Sunday Worship: Learn about Summer Seminary, a program of the UUA Office of…
VIDEO: Whole, Healing and Broken – by Paloma Callo
One assignment our Summer Seminary (#UUSumSem) program students receive is writing a 3-5 minute homily based on a prompt. On Saturday night they presented their homilies to each other, and then voted to select the five they wanted to represent their class during worship on Sunday Morning at First Unitarian Church of Oakland, CA. Here Summer Seminarian Paloma Callo speaks to the lament with which many youth and young adults struggle, “How do we inherit this broken world with grace?” She calls for other generations to hold the hands of the younger generations as they work to shape and reshape the world that was given to them. Watch now as Paloma Callo Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA)…
VIDEO: The Bigger Heart – by Isaac Prier
Watch as Isaac Prier Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) Summer Seminary 2016 Grad delivers his homily, “The Bigger Heart”, during Sunday Worship at First Unitarian Church of Oakland, CA. Learn about Summer Seminary, a program of the UUA Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries. Read the transcript of Issac’s homily: ISAAC PRIER: There is salvation in this life. This is one of the five jagged rocks of Unitarian Universalism, a statement of faith created by Nancy Bowen. There is salvation in this life. But if there is salvation, is there not also damnation? For a long time, I struggled with this jagged rock and saw many others struggle with it because of the implication…
Stretching Resources for Campus Ministry
Smart Strategy + Limited Resources = Vibrant Campus Ministry by Carlene Gardner Three years ago, the Unitarian Church of Montreal (UCM) hired me as the Campus Ministry Coordinator on a contract of just 3 hours a week, from September to May. The purpose was to set up a group for Montreal students to connect with each other, the UCM and the Unitarian movement at large. Targeting ‘students’ was an ambitious goal, given that Montreal has four major universities and 14 junior colleges, totaling nearly a quarter million post-secondary students. This puts Montreal on the map as having one of the largest student populations in the world, and the highest proportion of any city in North…
How Unitarian Universalist Faith Forms Part 1/2
Bonds Between People of Faith Blue Boat brings you this article by Rev. Dr. Kate R. Walker, Minister, Mt. Vernon Unitarian Church Alexandria, VA in two parts. Part one focuses on Dr. Walker’s reflection on how faith formation in Unitarian Universalist youth and young adults is differs from other faiths . Part two includes Dr. Walker’s research findings and observations. – ed By Rev. Dr. Kate R. Walker This is a summary on the research conducted during my Doctor of Ministry degree with a thesis on The Faith Formation of Unitarian Universalist Youth and Young Adults. ~ May and June bring graduations and the mark of transitions for youth and young adults. At…
How Unitarian Universalist Faith Forms Part 2/2
Bonds Between People of Faith Blue Boat brings you this article by Rev. Dr. Kate R. Walker, Minister, Mt. Vernon Unitarian Church Alexandria, VA in 2 parts. Part one focuses on Dr. Walker’s reflection on faith formation in youth and young adults. Part two includes Dr. Walker’s research findings and observations. – ed By Rev. Dr. Kate R. Walker (Read Part One here.) PART TWO Things that I found in my research with our youth and young adults: *Unitarian Universalist (UU) young adults have a more positive worldview than UU youth, and both groups are more positive than the norm found in U.S. young adults, who show prominent themes of chaos and corruption in…
Fiercely UU: Sitting in for Democracy
Fiercely UU is a blog series where Unitarian Universalist (UU) young adults tell stories about what our faith requires of us and how they follow that call. To be fiercely UU is to proclaim human worth and interdependence. In an individualist, greed-based, shame and fear fueled white supremacist patriarchy, we say no to isolation and oppression and yes to radical love and covenanted connection. – Ed. Our Fifth Principle and Sitting in for Democracy by Laura Williamson Last month I sat on the steps of the U.S. Capitol with 300 others singing, chanting, and eventually being arrested, to send a message to Congress: amend the Constitution to get big money out of politics and restore the right…
On Religion in “Far-Flung 21st Century Lives”
Krista Tippett Speaks at the 2016 Ware Lecture by John Newhall Krista Tippett, the host of On Being and author of three books, will deliver the Ware Lecture at General Assembly this year. As the host of a radio show focused on spirituality and living fully, she is a logical choice for an Assembly focused on interfaith dialog and connection. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Brown University and a won a Fulbright scholarship to study politics in Europe during the Cold War. Her time in Germany shaped her in unimaginable ways. Upon her return, nearly a decade later, she began attending Yale Divinity School after which she, “saw a black hole where intelligent coverage…
VIDEO: Activities at Campus Ministry Meetings
#UUCampusQ’s Episode Three What Can I Actually Do? The Reverend Annie Gonzalez Milliken, the Young Adult and Campus Ministry Associate of the Unititarian Universalist Association Office of Youth and Young Adult Minisitries learns what kinds of activities work well for a campus group, by speaking with Alice King, an intern minister and seminarian with 9 years of on the ground campus ministry experience, and Kayla Parker, a recent seminary grad who previously served as the Unitarian Universalist Association Campus Ministry Associate. Like Campus UUs on Facebook to be notified when episodes of UUCampusQs are released! Alice mentions a wide variety of resources in her part of the video. Here are some of the ideas…
The Secret to What Young Adults Want
Julie Brock wrote this newsletter column for First Unitarian Society of Madison and shared it with us given how relevant it is to young adult ministry everywhere. Thanks Julie! by Julie Brock Having young people in church is pretty great. Youth bring new energy, fresh perspective, and remind us that we are part of something larger than ourselves, that will be here when we aren’t anymore. I know a lot of young people who want to explore spirituality in community, and find the values and principles of the Unitarian Universalist (UU) tradition to be grounding and resonant to their own worldview. Yet it remains true that it is difficult to give young people what they…
Recent Comments