Blue Boat of Youth and Young Adult MinistriesReflections after Thrive Young Adult
Kaitlin Dey, Thrive Young Adult alumni 2016 and 2017, shared this reflection at her congregation last Sunday: I spent the last 10 days in New Orleans. I attended Thrive Young Adult. Thrive is part of Grow Racial Justice that is for UU young adults of color, we dove deep into complex questions about identity, power, spirituality and leadership. We got to explore our roles as young adults of color in our UU movement, build relationships with one another around intersecting identities, share practices for healing and resistance, and support each other on the path toward liberation. While I was at Thrive, I began dialogues about the beauty and the flaws of our faith. As the week continued and General Assembly began,…
Reflection on White Supremacy in Our UUA
From the staff of the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries UPDATED 3/31/17. [Since the publication of this post from our office, the President of the UUA has resigned (read the reporting of this event on UU World here), and the Leadership Council of the UUA released this statement.] – ed. A very important conversation has been happening about the insidious white supremacy in our Unitarian Universalist Association, centering currently around our hiring practices. We encourage you to do some digging and read multiple perspectives in this conversation. A good place to start is the 3/27 UUWorld article, statement from Black Lives of UU and this Compilation of Responses. With gratitude to those reminding…
Living Legacy Project Youth Civil Rights Pilgrimage
Energize this Legacy APPLICATION DEADLINE EXTENDED | GRANTS AVAILABLE Announcing the Living Legacy Project (LLP) All Youth Civil Rights Pilgrimage, June 5th-9th, 2017! This 5-day pilgrimage will be led by LLP board members Reverend Gordon Gibson and Reggie Harris, beginning in Birmingham and continuing to Marion, Selma and Montgomery, Alabama. The vision of the LLP Youth Civil Rights Pilgrimage to create a connection with youth to the history of racial justice in the United States — so that they too, can become actively engaged in the Unitarian Universalist racial justice movement of today. Planning team members Jules Jaramillo, Director of Lifespan Religious Education at Countryside Church Unitarian Universalist and Tina DeYoe Director of Religious Education…
Losing Our Chains
Aisha participated in this summer’s Thrive Young Adult leadership school for Unitarian Universalist young adults of color. – ed. by Aisha Ansano The five days I spent with my Thrive Young Adult cohort were vibrant and life-giving. So many parts of it stand out, moments that were uplifting, and challenging, and heart-breaking. New friends who I knew would be beside me every step of the way as I moved forward in my life. And new practices that I could engage with to deepen my own life. Every morning, a different member of our cohort led us in a short spiritual practice. It was the best way to start the day: all gathered in the chapel, bellies…
Fiercely UU: Universalism and the Disinherited
Fiercely UU is a new blog series where Unitarian Universalist 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. Read more stories of Fiercely Unitarian Universalist Faith here. The Disinherited by Joseph Boyd Will is a friend of mine. We met at Rikers Island Correctional Facility in a two acre garden space, a little Eden in the midst of bars, blood, and stinky socks. Will sat in a corner and…
Coming to Terms with My Transracial Adoption
Finding My Roots By Ellie Brown “Is she really your sister?” “Oh, she’s real alright.” I didn’t realize how alienated I felt by my surroundings during my childhood until I grew into my young adult years. My parents cared greatly for me, I had wonderful friends, a supportive Unitarian Universalist community, and a sea of opportunities. However, continuous microaggressions that I experienced relating to my transracial adoption were quickly internalized. People asked how much I cost, who my real parents were, and why I wasn’t wanted. These along with generally ignorant remarks about my race took a toll on me. My knowledge about my Chinese culture was limited, even though my parents provided me with…
Top Seven for YaYA of Color
Great resources to better support Unitarian Universalist (UU) youth and young adults of color Whether you are a religious educator, youth advisor, minister, parent, mentor, community member, chaplain, or spiritual seeker, ministry to and with UU youth and young adults of color is vital, spirit-filling work. Here my top seven resources for those who see serving youth and young adults of color as part of their role (check out the full list here!): 1) Be The Change! gives Unitarian Universalist youth a starting place for discussions about the role of race, identity and justice in living out their faith. The core of the project is a six-session, nine-hour training program that can be used by groups of different…
Which Emergency?
A Day of Civil Disobedience for Social Justice @RevElizabethN, UUA Leadership Development Associate for Youth and Young Adults of Color reports from St. Louis, MO. where she and more than one hundred Unitarian Universalists, local congregations, and others participated in acts of resistance to mark the anniversary of the death of Michael Brown. This day of resistance was the result of organizing for social justice and change that happens here 365 days a year, and the history of justice work that has come before. On August 10th, Saint Louis County authorities declared a state of emergency as organizers shutdown interstate-70, faith leaders demanded that the Department of Justice do its job, and people marched in solidarity all…
#MLS2015 Voices: I too, am Unitarian Universalism
Guest blogger Yashasvi Janamanchi attended the Unitarian Universalist Association Multicultural Leadership School (MLS) this July. This post is an excerpt of Yashi’s reflections from the youth-led worship at his home congregation of Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church. -ed. While I was at MLS, I learned a lot of things, one fact in particular shocked me. Our faith is 87% white. Maybe this doesn’t surprise a lot of you, but it did surprise me. I knew we had a white majority, but I didn’t think it would be that big. The even sadder part is that a lot of people at MLS were surprised that we had that many people of color. This was surprising, and it didn’t start…
Voices from #MLS2015: Radiating Love
Guest blogger Sunshine Alvarez attended the Unitarian Universalist Association Multicultural Leadership School this July. Sunshine belongs to the Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. -ed. On July 10th, I had the opportunity to attend a Multicultural Leadership School (MLS) in Boston, Massachusetts for the second time. This was hands down the best part of my summer. MLS is a program supported by the UUA, and at this school I spent five days with youth, such as myself, and young adults of color. There are a lot of challenges growing up as a Black young adult and just growing up being a young adult of color, period, so it felt great to connect with people who were…
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