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Young Adult News
A monthly newsletter of the UUA Office of Young Adult Ministries April, 2009 - Issue 68 | |
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| Events |
CMWD - Keynote Speaker Sharon Parks at Annual Assembly
April 24-26, 2009
Waukesha, WI
PNWD - CONsumption
April 24-26, 2009
Corvallis, OR
CMWD - Continuity 2009
April 24-26, 2009
Minneapolis, MN
OMD - UUYAN Spring Con
May 29-31, 2009
Shaker Hts, OH
CMWD - CONscientious: Live Your Faith!
May 29-31, 2009
Brookfield, WI |
April Action of the Month: April: Environmental
Justice
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Each month, the UUA implements robust action campaigns that aim to engage congregations and individual UUs. Actions of the Month will focus on accomplishing concrete policy objectives that reflect our faith values. Visit the UUA's Social Justice page for more information. In partnership
with Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth (UUMFE) and Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC), the we invite UUs to engage in environmental justice -
recognizing the disproportionate impact that both environmental problems and
proposed "solutions" have had on women, low-income families, and communities of
color both in the U.S. and around the world. Join UUs across the country as we
work on a variety of consciousness-raising actions, culminating in Earth Sunday
services on April 26th. | |
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| Greetings! |
Greetings
all,
Spring is here and you
know what that means... annual district assemblies! Now, now, before you hiss
and moan about long and boring plenary sessions, think on the bright side!
Personally, I'm very excited to attend the Central Midwest Annual District
Assembly April 24-26 and get the chance to meet their keynote speaker, Sharon
Daloz Parks. As you may know, Parks is the author of Big Questions, Worthy Dreams, an excellent
book on young adult faith identity development. There will also be a workshop
for young adults and those engaged in young adult ministry to come together to
share their stories and to learn new skills. Districts provide important
leadership and resources to our congregations and we need your voice to be heard
in that process. So I invite you to look into the possibility of going to your
district assembly or annual meeting. Come to have your spirit nurtured and to
help heal the world. You can find out when and where by visiting your district's
website. See a list of districts.
For those of you
looking for reading on young adult ministry, another great book I recommend is
Carol Howard Merritt's 2007 book Tribal Church: Ministering to the Missing Generation.
This is an essential read for any minister, director of religious
education, or other professional or volunteer church leader looking to welcome
and minister to young adults. In the same spirit of these recommendations, we'll
be including a bibliography of recommended reading on young adult ministry in
our 2009 edition of The Guide to Young Adult
Ministry-coming soon!
In this brief issue of
young adult news I hope you will take a few minutes to read over the following
important articles: 1) An announcement below about upcoming changes in staffing
for young adult ministries at the UUA. 2) A call for volunteer staff for the
Continental Unitarian Universalist Young Adult Network's (C*UUYAN) annual
meeting coming up this June in advance of General
Assembly in Salt Lake City, UT. 3) The still relatively new
events section to the left where you'll find links to a number of local,
district, and association wide events relevant to young adults.
Happy reading and keep
in touch!
In
faith,
Erik B. Kesting
Acting
Co-Director of Young Adult Ministries
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Changes in Young Adult Ministry
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Some big changes are happening in Young Adult Ministry!
The many programs and initiatives of the Young Adult
Ministries Office, currently housed in the Congregational Services staff group,
will be moving into a new office within the Lifespan Faith Development staff
group, which has been the home of youth ministry for many years. It is our hope
and intention that young adult ministries will benefit from the increased
visibility and attention that incorporation into Lifespan Faith Development
will bring about.
Effective July 1, 2009, the new Youth and Young Adult
Ministries Office will provide ministry, trainings, resources and a variety of technological resources and services through the following staff positions:
Youth and Young Adult Ministries Office Director
Program Associate for Ministry to Youth and Young Adults of
Color
Program Associate for Bridging and Campus Ministry
Program Associate for Leadership Development
Technology Specialist
Youth and Young Adult Ministries Office Administrator
The Rev. Dr. Monica Cummings will be continuing her amazing
work as Program Associate for Ministry to Youth and Young Adults of Color in
this new structure and Sarah Prager will continue as the Office Administrator.
The positions of Youth and Young Adult Ministries Office Director and Program
Associate for Bridging and Campus Ministry are scheduled to begin July 1,
2009. The positions of Program Associate
for Leadership Development and Technology Specialist are scheduled to begin
September 8, 2009. Check Career Opportunities Page on the UUA website in the coming weeks for postings of these
positions.
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Thomas Jefferson District Annual Meeting |
Do you live in the Thomas Jefferson District and have a
passion for young adult and multicultural ministry?
If so, you should come on down to North Carolina and spend
an amazing weekend at the Thomas Jefferson District Annual Meeting. The event
runs May 8-10 and you can get more details and register here.
The Rev. Dr. Monica Cummings, Program Associate for Ministry
for Youth and Young Adults of Color and Nancy DiGiovanni, Acting Co-Director of
the Office of Young Adult Ministries of the UUA will be in attendance. They
will provide a dynamic and informative workshop on Saturday and worship on
Sunday!
We hope to see you there! |
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An Inward Journey of
Spiritual and Identity Development for Youth and Young Adults of Color
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Have
you ever had the thought, "How can I bring my total self to Unitarian
Universalism?"
The
sixth principal of our Unitarian
Universalist principals asks that we work towards "the goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all."
If
you are 15 to 30 years old and identify as a person of color (persons of Native
American, Asian, Arab, Latino/a, African descent, trans-racially adopted,
bi-racial, multiracial and international) YOU are invited to join us in
conversations and activities that will focus on identity and spiritual
development in Unitarian Universalism.
Date: May 16, 2009
Time:
10:00am - 6:00pm
Place:
Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Montclair,
67 Church Street, Montclair NJ, 07042
Cost:
Free of Charge; Lunch and Dinner will be provided
For more
information contact:
Rev. Dr. Monica L.
Cummings, Program
Associate for Ministry to Youth and Young Adults of Color (262) 705-5786
or mcummings@uua.org
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C*UUYAN Seeking Staff for ConCurrent
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Help make ConCurrent: Opus and
ConCentric 2009 a success! We are seeking the following staff for this
conference in Salt Lake
City, June 19-23: Co-chairs (2), Chaplains (2), Business
Moderators (2), a Worship Coordinator, a Workshop Coordinator, and a Registrar.
If you are interested, please email cuuyan-sc@yahoogroups.com or visit
www.uuyan.org for more information and an application.
Peace,
C*UUYAN
Steering Committee
Liz Weber (Facilitator)
Andrew Mertz
(At-Large)
Chris Wulff (At-Large)
Linnea Huston (At-Large)
Tom Bozeman
(At-Large)
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| Contact the Office of Young Adult Ministries |
Hallie Andrew - Young Adult Ministries Office Administrator (617) 948-4645 - handrew@uua.orgNancy DiGiovanni - Acting Co-Director of Young Adult Ministries (617) 948-4629 - ndigiovanni@uua.orgErik B. Kesting - Acting Co-Director of Young Adult Ministries (608) 467-6886- ekesting@uua.org | |
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