Young Adult News A monthly newsletter of the UUA Office of Young Adult Ministries June, 2009 - Issue 70
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Events |
General Assembly June 24-28, 2009 Salt Lake City, Utah
C*UUYAN Virtual Meeting July 18, 2009 Online
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June Action of the Month: Continuing Immigrant 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. May's Immigrant Justice theme extends into June as we prepare for General Assembly, which will include a rally in Salt Lake City in support of immigrant families. So if you didn't get a chance to promote immigrant justice in May, consider taking one (or all!) of these three actions right now to support immigrant justice: 1. Send a fax to Congress supporting immigration reform 2. Send Congress an email in support of BGLT immigrants 3. Send a letter of support to Walt Staton, a UU young adult who provides humanitarian aid to migrant border crossers as a volunteer with No More Deaths, an official ministry of the UU Church of Tucson. Yesterday, Walt was found guilty of a criminal misdemeanor of "knowingly littering," which he was charged with after putting out jugs of water intended for migrants crossing remote areas of the Sonoran desert last December on Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge. Letters of support for Walt and No More Deaths can be sent to media@nomoredeaths.org. | |
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Greetings!
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Greetings
all,
As you may know, the
Office of Young Adult Ministries and the Youth Ministries Office at the
Unitarian Universalist Association will join together on July 1, 2009 to form
the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries. Staff in the new office will
continue to provide the essential resources and services historically provided
by these two offices.
We extend our
heartfelt thanks to all of you who have worked with the Office of Young Adult
Ministries in the past. It has been a pleasure to work with many of you over the
years. Going forward, we hope you will share your passion and commitment with
the new Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries and work together to provide
ever more vibrant, relevant, and meaningful ministry for all our youth and young
adults.
We would like to take
this opportunity to publically express our deep gratitude for the work of Hallie
Andrew who has served as our Young Adult Ministries Office Administrator for the
past year. Hallie's dedication and hard work has made her an invaluable asset to
our office. This will be her last month as Office Administrator. Her presence in
the Office of Young Adult Ministries will be sorely missed as she pursues new
adventures. Please join me in wishing her all the best in her new
endeavors!
As if this wasn't
enough news, there's a chock-full issue of Young Adult News waiting for you below.
Happy reading!
In
faith,
Nancy
DiGiovanni and Erik
B. Kesting Acting Co-Directors of Young Adult
Ministries
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Letter from the Program Associate for
Ministry to Youth and Young Adults of Color
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Hi Family,
As you read in the introduction to this newsletter, the
Office of Young Adult and Campus Ministry is undergoing significant
transition. If I were to describe the
atmosphere in the Youth and Young Adults offices, uncertainty would be an
accurate word to use. With all the
staffing uncertainty in the air, I want to comfort you with the knowledge that
the support that is vital to sustaining programs and leadership to UU Young
Adults will continue during staff transitions.
I believe the following quote by Marilyn Ferguson adequately
expresses my point.
"The difference between transformation by accident and
transformation by a system is like the difference between lightning and a
lamp. Both give illumination, but one is
dangerous and unreliable, while the other is relatively safe, directed,
available."
Finally, all those remaining on staff, myself included, are
committed to support a safe, directed, available transformation to the new
structure in the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries.
Living My Faith,
Rev. Monica
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2008 Youth and Young Adult Empowerment Resolution Follow Up
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At the 2008 General Assembly, three motions were passed that called our
association of congregations into deeper and healthier relationship
with Unitarian Universalist youth and young adults. One of those
motions, the responsive resolution entitled Youth and Young Adult Empowerment: Accountability, called
for member congregations, districts, and other Unitarian Universalist
groups to report annually on their work with youth and young adults.
Accordingly, the UUA Administration developed a survey
tool that was sent to all congregations and organizations named in the resolution. The results of these
surveys and other relevant reports can be found on the UUA Website.
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Alice
King Receives Donna DiSciullo Award
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The
Office of Young Adult Ministries is grateful to and thrilled to present Alice
King with the Donna DiSciullo Young Adult and Campus Ministry Award for her
excellence in ministry to and with young adults.
Alice demonstrates the epitome of all that can be accomplished when a dedicated
professional is empowered by a congregation to provide meaningful and vital
young adult ministry. As the Unitarian Universalist Campus
Minister at UCSD and SDSU...and the Young Adult & Campus Ministry
Coordinator at First UU Church of San Diego, Alice is a welcoming and profoundly
deep and loving mentor and role model to the young adults with whom she works.
Her multicultural and anti-oppression competencies make her a strong and solid
ally to the marginalized communities within and around the UUA. Her longstanding
local and district leadership has reached beyond the Southwest District with her
involvement as a workshop leader at the LREDA Fall Conference in 2008, as a
member of the Young Adult and Campus Ministry Training and Meeting Event hosted
by the Office of Young Adult Ministries in Boston in 2008 and as a panelist at
General Assembly in Salt Lake City in 2009.
Alice has a clear vision for healthy
and sustainable ministry to young adults and campus members, and she advocates
for these ministries whenever she has the opportunity. She speaks truth to power
and her professionalism and mentorship is a gift to all who know her, spanning
many ages and stages.
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Save the Date--C*UUYAN Virtual Meeting July 18!
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C*UUYAN will hold a virtual meeting on Saturday, July 18, at 3 pm EST. We will
hold elections for new Steering Committee members at that time. Other possible
agenda items include hearing and discussing reports from Steering Committee and
the task forces created at last year's pre-GA meeting, as well as discussing the
direction for C*UUYAN for the next year. (One task force is generating ideas
about how to make our annual conferences strong and sustainable; the other is
examining young adult ministry within our community and our denomination.)
Logistical details are forthcoming--check July's YA News or email us at
CUUYAN-SC@yahoogroups.com.
Serving on Steering Committee is a rewarding
opportunity to give back to the community! Open Steering Committee positions
include the Facilitator position and three At-Large positions. Terms are one
year each. Steering Committee this year will work with the UUA on our
relationship and will work to build momentum for and provide support in planning
Opus and ConCentric 2010. Young adults who will remain in the 18-35 y.o. age
range throughout summer 2010 are eligible to run for Steering Committee. If you
are curious or interested, email us at CUUYAN-SC@yahoogroups.com. We look
forward to hearing from you!
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Apply for Open Seat on UUA Audit Committee
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The Committee on
Committees of the UUA Board of Trustees is accepting applications for a seat on
the UUA Audit Committee. The Audit
Committee oversees the annual audit of financial statements by a public
accounting firm and monitors the review, establishment and implementation of
accounting policies and internal controls.
Preferred candidates
will have professional experience and leadership roles in settings where the budget exceeds $20 million, in
finance, accounting, or management in organizations similar to the UUA.
Familiarity and understanding of generally accepted accounting principles is
required. Experience applying or interpreting accounting rules and relevant
experience working in not-for-profits and on organizational audit committees is
a plus.
Links to further
information about the Audit Committee and the online Committee on Committees application form
can be found at uua.org/aboutus/governance/7313.shtml, under "Board Appointed
Committees". The deadline for applications for this position is June 17,
2009.
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Contact the Office of Young Adult Ministries |
Hallie Andrew - Young Adult Ministries Office Administrator (617) 948-4645 - handrew@uua.org
Rev. Dr. Monica L.
Cummings - Program Associate for Youth and Young Adults of
Color
(262) 705-5786
- mcummings@uua.org Nancy DiGiovanni - Acting Co-Director of Young Adult Ministries (617) 948-4629 - ndigiovanni@uua.org
Erik B. Kesting - Acting Co-Director of Young Adult Ministries (608) 467-6886- ekesting@uua.org | |
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