Blue Boat of Youth and Young Adult MinistriesWelcoming The Last of the Millennials to Your Church
The Annual Beloit College Mindset List is released for each new entering class as way to acknowledge the differences in worldview (or mindset) of incoming first-years. Originally, it was intended as a way to remind professors to watch their references with students. It continues to serve this purpose and has become a larger pop culture touchstone reminding the public of the worldview of 18 year olds. This year’s list, for the Class of 2021, reminds us that: They are the last class to be born in the 1900s, the last of the Millennials — enter next year, on cue, Generation Z! This is an opportunity for you and your congregation to explore how you might be…
Activating Justice for Migrant Farmworkers
This post comes to us from our friends and partners at the Unitarian Universalist College of Social Justice (UUCSJ). Learn more about UUCSJ programs that create greater justice in the world. Read Deva Jones’ post on the UUCSJ blog. Activating the Next Generation Jul 28, 2017 | Congregational Trip, Economic Justice, Florida, Immigration, Youth | 0 comments Deva Jones, Senior Associate for Service-Learning and Volunteer Placements, led a group of youth on one of UUCSJ’s newest programs Activate Florida: Solidarity with Migrant Farmworkers this April. To learn more about this program visit http://uucsj.org/florida/ What do you think of when you hear, “Florida”? For many, the first words that come to mind are beaches, warm weather, vacation,…
Apply Now to Lead the UU-UNO Spring Seminar
The applications to join the Seminar Staff as a Youth Dean or Adult Dean for the 2018 Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office Intergenerational Spring Seminar are now open and are due August 2nd, 2017! The 2018 Seminar, on the topic of refugees and the global migration crisis, will be April 5-7, 2018 in New York City. Click here to read what the two Youth Deans from the 2017 Intergenerational Spring Seminar wrote about their experience leading the seminar,and get inspired to apply to be a Youth Dean for 2018-19! (Youth Dean is a two-year position—this person will serve as Junior Youth Dean in 2018 and Senior Youth Dean in 2019.)
Reflections 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,…
13 Reasons We Need Have These Conversations…
But Maybe Not Using 13 Reasons Why Netflix recently adapted Jay Asher’s young adult novel, 13 Reasons Why, into a 13-part series that has catapulted into pop culture, breaking social media and viewership records. Visually compelling with cliff-hangers that pull you from one episode to the next, 13 Reasons Why is well made (produced by Selena Gomez’s production company) but that doesn’t mean it is good. A number of justified critiques of the series note that it glorifies suicide, includes graphic scenes of rape, and goes against recommended guidelines for discussing suicide in the media. It also portrays adults as non-supportive especially the black male guidance counselor, who fails to note the warning signs that the main character…
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…
What Does Sanctuary Really Mean?
by Elissa McDavid We are facing reality, as a faith, a nation, and individuals who may not have been as active as we should have been before the election results of November 8th. Those that lived-in fear before, now live in greater fear as families and communities are torn apart, on an even larger scale. Like many people, I am figuring out how to help those that face deportation, fear, and intimidation. I am trying to understand this as a Unitarian Universalist and as a young adult. I am also an intern with the Unitarian Universalist Association Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries, working with Young Adult and Campus Ministry Associate Annie Gonzalez Milliken,…
UU Youth & Young Adults at the Women’s March!
Out in Force for Love My twin 6 year olds travelled from Lexington. KY. (Unitarian Universalist Church of Lexington) to Washington. Here are some of our photos: It was especially meaningful to them that so many new friends stopped to talk with them and thank them for coming, and assure them that they can and will change the world. – Alana Ghent We are members of the Unitarian Univeralist Church of Lexington. My daughters are age 12 and 9. – Becky Wallace These are photos of my daughter Rowan Benson at the #sistermarch in Lexington, KY this past weekend. I am a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Lexington and on the leadership council…
Spiritual Practices for Privileged Fragility
The great safety pin debate. The epic pussy hat debacle. These are just two examples of an ongoing trend in liberal circles: people (often with relative privilege) respond poorly when their well meaning actions are critiqued by others on the left (often by folks with relatively less privilege). While some lament that divisive critique is destroying the left I know that we who believe in liberation have the spiritual resources to respond well to critical feedback and move forward together. How do I know this? Because I’m an able bodied cis white woman from a middle class liberal background who has learned to respond less defensively to critique from the left over time, using spiritual practices….
Real Love is Not Nice
There is a poster you can buy in the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) bookstore that says in big font “Love is Hard. Do it anyway.” This poster, designed by Carey McDonald, UUA Outreach Director, talks about an interdependent inclusive love. This is the love we’re called to as Unitarian Universalists (UU). I believe that love is hard, and I try and try to do it anyway. I fail a lot, because I’m human. I try again. This real hard love is at the center of my faith, and because it is so sacred to me, I feel frustrated when I see people confusing what love calls us to with being nice. These days many of…
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