Blue Boat of Youth and Young Adult MinistriesMeet the YMAC
As the members of the Youth Ministry Advisory Committee, we help advise the President of the Unitarian Universalist Association on youth issues. In 2009, the Youth Ministry Working Group released its final report. Among its many recommendations was to create a committee that could advise the UUA the administration and staff on the Working Group’s recommendations and ongoing issues of youth ministry. At each of our meetings, we discuss new initiatives in the UUA, exciting new programs in our districts and congregations, and brainstorm ways to improve our beloved community of youth. We are a mix of youth and adults from across the nation, and we are all delighted to have the chance to serve…
How to Better Support Transracially Adopted Youth
Webinar on December 15, 4PM E.D.T. A recent study found that many youth of color participating in UU congregations are transracially adopted, and that transracially adopted youth of color typically belong to UU congregations that are mostly white. Transracially adopted youth may have different issues or needs from white youth, or even other youth of color. The 2009 Mosaic Report, the Youth Ministry Working Group Reports and the Youth Ministry Advisory Committee (YMAC) all call for us to better support UU transracially adopted youth. Join Rev. Dr. Monica L. Cummings, UUA program associate for ministry to youth and young adults of color, for a free webinar on Transracially Adopted Youth Ministry to better understand the…
Regional Youth Ministry Surges
Hanging out with youth leaders and adult staff from the Central East Regional Group (CERG) last weekend, I’m convinced something new and wonderful is going on. Youth programs and events have traditionally been at district and national levels, so the idea of in-between regionally-based youth ministry offers exciting possibilities. Rather than crowding out established district programs like youth conferences (cons) which already bring tremendous value, regional youth ministry allows for a broader focus on creating the multigenerational communities called for in the 2009 Youth Ministry Working Group report. Why regions? For one, the UUA’s five regions draw on a level of diversity not found in most of its 19 districts. CERG has congregations that are…
New Youth Ministry Training
Revised Youth Ministry Renaissance Module @ LREDA Conference I recently attended the LREDA Fall Conference in Portland, OR and sat in on the Youth Ministry Renaissance Module. It was great to connect with UU religious education professionals from all over the country at the conference, and the new Youth Ministry Module was a special highlight. RenMods (as they are sometimes called) are 15-hour trainings in specific areas of religious education offered as part of the RE credentialing program. Co-written by Beth Dana and Jesse Jaeger, the new Youth Ministry RenMod was receiving rave reviews from the attendees, a discerning crowd of youth ministry veterans. You can find the leader’s guide and handouts online here and…
Multiple Pathways: What Does That Mean?
Perhaps you are familiar with this term or maybe you have heard it but are not quite sure what it means. Or maybe you have not heard it at all. Whatever the case, you probably do know what it means, just not what it is called. “Multiple pathways” refers, quite literally, to the need for there to be multiple paths for our youth to follow that includes, but is not limited to, the youth group model. To be a little more specific, recognizing multiple pathways calls us to a congregation-wide, district-wide, association-wide vision of youth ministry where youth are involved in all aspects of our community life, and individual youth have options for how they…
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