Blue Boat of Youth and Young Adult MinistriesWhat UU Campus Ministry Looks Like in Trump Times
UU Campus Ministry Partners with Undocumented Student Center Submitted by the Rev. Beth Banks The Unitarian Universalist Church of Davis has a long-standing campus ministry, supported by a Senior Minister, a yearly intern and a Campus Committee from the congregation. Recently we’ve been asking what it would look like if we did more than provide a home-cooked meal, a facilitated discussion, activities, and pastoral care for students exploring Unitarian Universalist. This year we found out what that could mean. What has emerged is a very different campus ministry than anything we’ve done before. In 2014, Beth Banks, our Senior Minister went on a Unitarian Universalist College of Social Justice (UUCSJ) immersion trip to the border…
White Supremacy Teach-In
Resources for Youth and Young Adult Ministry When you hear or read the words “White Supremacy,” what thoughts come to mind, what emotions surface? For some of us, it is a fear-filled phrase that conjures images of white hoods and robes that seems totally dissonant with our Unitarian Universalist faith. For others, it is a term of criticism that exposes the ways our wider culture and even our systems within UUism continue to privilege the feelings, ideas, success and lives of white people over people of color. Because of our lived experiences and our intersecting identities, we may all have different reactions to this phrase. As Rev. Sofia Betancourt, interim co-president for our Unitarian Universalist…
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,…
Why Should Young Folks Go To General Assembly?
What is the role of spiritual community in these times? We’ve been asking that question over and over, particularly as we think about our upcoming Unitarian Universalist Association General Assembly. What is the point of gathering, especially a gathering that takes so many resources, when so many of us are in pain, subject to violence, unclear what the months between here and there will bring? This General Assembly the theme is “Resist and Rejoice.” And we certainly have much need for resistance. The white supremacy, greed fueled economic inequality, hetero-patriarchy and ableism that existed before Trump was elected is gaining ground in our government and in our streets. These developments are horrifying, outrageous, scary. So…
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…
“With No Force At All”
A Unitarian Universalist Welcome by Leslie Mills After I graduated college, with my family of origin in turmoil, I moved to a place where I knew no one outside of the job I was working. As I young person who didn’t know myself well yet, I had some messy relationships, with no healthy models to hold up as a mirror. I was drifting, and in a lot of pain. In desperation, I recalled my Unitarian Universalist upbringing, and thought I’d take a risk and try out the UU congregation in my new town. I attended a Music Sunday, and was so moved I found myself weeping. I signed the visitors book as a gesture of…
VIDEO: Keeping Your Campus Ministry Going
#UU Campus Q’s Episode Five The Reverend Annie Gonzalez Milliken, the Young Adult and Campus Ministry Associate of the Unititarian Universalist Association Office of Youth and Young Adult Minisitries invites Matt Stidman and Marion Hirsch (narrated by Stephanie Carey Maron) to tackle the problem of transferring leadership of campus ministry so it continues even after you’re gone. Like Campus UUs on Facebook to be notified when episodes of UUCampusQs are released! (Spoiler alert: Marion’s narration is particularly animated!)
A Seat at the Table
A Seat at the Table: The Transformative Practice of Being Together by Lauren Hulse Early this year, the congregation I am a part of in Knoxville, Tennessee, Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church (TVUUC), helped bring an Interfaith program called A Seat at the Table (ASATT) to our hometown. The premise is very simple: once a month people from a diversity of faith traditions sit down to share a meal and a conversation. Last week, I got to attend one of these dinners – despite the apparent simplicity of the concept, it was a profound and transformative experience. A Seat at the Table dinners move from place to place each month, landing wherever they can find…
How a UU Congregation Welcomed Me…
For many, leaving their birth congregation is a rending experience, and finding a new home congregation a daunting one. Every instance of this transition is a personal story which, when shared speaks to the universal experience of seeking and belonging. This is the first in a series of responses and reflections by Unitarian Universalist young adults on their experience being welcomed into a UU congregation that was new to them, prompted by a comment by Kenny Wiley, UU World Senior editor. – Ed. Kenny Wiley comments: “What’s a time you felt welcomed or affirmed by a faith community, be it a one-time thing or a sustained experience? I keep thinking about the UU church in Columbia,…
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