Young Adult News
A monthly newsletter of the UUA Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries    August 2009 -  Issue 71

In This Issue
UU-UNO Opportunity
Standing on the Side of Love
New Staff Announcement
Greetings from the Director
Campus Ministry Event
In Memoriam - Katie Tyson
In Memoriam - Kevin Drewery
C*UUYAN News
Step Up to Serve on UUA Committees
Join Our Mailing List!
Events
Training for OWL Leaders
Community Church of New York, NYC, NY
August 14-15, 2009

Ohio-Meadville Camping Trip
Mohican State Park, Loudonville, OH
August 28-30, 2009

Sustain the Spark: PSWD Conference
Camp de Benneville Pines, Angelus Oaks, CA
September 4-7, 2009

Ohio-Meadville Fall Con
Marietta, OH
October 16-18, 2009
UU-UNO Opportunity
Concerned about Climate Change?  At the Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office, we are too! Every April, youth and adults from around the United States and Canada gather in New York City for our exciting and educational Intergenerational Spring Seminar. This year's topic will be Climate Change! It will take place: April 8-10, 2010.

You should attend the Spring Seminar to gain a deep understanding on topic of global concern, listen to insightful speakers from around the world, learn, make friends, have fun, and even sleep, as well as take on important leadership roles in its planning and execution.

In order to make the Spring Seminar possible, we need all the help we can get from our community. You can do this by being on a Spring Seminar Committee! These include: Speaker-seekers, food providers, finance management, publicity, and event planning.

Being on a committee entails meeting frequently with other members of your committee and helping us smoothen the planning of the Spring Seminar. People on committees do not have to pay to attend the Spring Seminar. To join a committee or find out about other leadership opportunities, contact [email protected].

Standing on the Side of Love
The Standing on the Side of Love campaign has taken off with over 5,000 fans on Facebook, and congregations across the country are ordering banners, standing on the side of love in worship, in interfaith coalitions, and community partnerships.
 
Standing on the Side of Love is a public advocacy campaign, initiated by the Unitarian Universalist Association, to promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person and the commitment that no person should be dehumanized through acts of exclusion, oppression, and violence.
 
We'd love to hear what you are doing and how the campaign can support you, your youth or young adult group, and your congregation as you stand on the side of love.
 
Connect at www.standingonthesideoflove.org (Congregational Toolkit coming soon!)
Find us on Facebook
Sign the pledge to Stand on the Side of Love!
New Staff Announcement
The Lifespan Faith Development Staff Group of the UUA is extremely pleased to announce the staffing of the new Youth and Young Adult Ministries Office, effective July 1, 2009.
 
After an active association-wide search, we are proud to announce that Erik B. Kesting will be our Youth and Young Adult Ministries Director. In addition, we are also pleased and excited to announce that Nancy DiGiovanni will be our Bridging and Campus Ministry Associate. Erik and Nancy join the recently hired Jeremie Giacoia who will serve as Leadership Development Associate of the Youth and Young Adult Ministries.
 
Continuing on in their current positions but now in the new Youth and Young Adult Ministries Office are Rev. Dr. Monica Cummings, Associate for Ministry to Youth and Young Adults of Color and Sarah Prager, Youth and Young Adult Ministries Office Administrator. The position of Technology Associate will be filled in September, and will complete the staffing of the Youth and Young Adult Ministries Office.
 
You can read more about the staff members of the Youth and Young Adult Ministries Office and the work they do by visiting the office's "Meet the Staff" webpage. These six staff members are part of and work collaboratively within the Lifespan Faith Development Staff Group of the UUA. All thirteen members of the Lifespan Faith Development Staff Group bring a multigenerational lens to our shared ministry with an awareness of the needs, interest, and gifts of people of all ages. We are ready to go forward with the challenging vision of multigenerational, multiculural, radically inclusive Unitarian Universalist faith communities!
 
In faith,
Judith A. Frediani
Director of Lifespan Faith Development
Unitarian Universalist Association
Greetings from the Director
Greetings all,
 
I hope you are all enjoying the summer, finding fulfillment in your communities, joy in your work, and comfort in your rest. I have been reflecting recently on newly elected UUA President Peter Morales' campaign slogan: "We can be the religion for our time." I find it to be a bold and inspiring statement of faith in our potential-your potential, my potential, our potential.
 
President Morales was clear, however, when he added, "We cannot seize the opportunity before us unless we are willing to make significant changes. We are not talking about minor adjustments. We need to change our religious culture. We need to become more welcoming, more relevant in the lives of our people, and more involved in the great moral issues of our time."
 
As most Unitarian Universalist congregations' liturgical year begins in the fall, I invite you to reflect with me this summer on President Morales' challenge. Specifically, when momentum starts to increase at your congregation this fall and everyone seems too busy to change, how will you and your congregation make our movement more welcoming and more relevant to youth and young adults? What will be the moral issues of their time and how can we support them in exploring those issues?
 
Happy summer, and as always, happy reading!
 
In faith,
Erik B. Kesting
UUA Youth and Young Adult Ministries Director

Being More Visible: Changing More Lives
A Campus Ministry Event

Is Unitarian Universalism alive and well on your nearby campus?

SHOULD it be?! Do you want to make it happen?!

Every day 1,000s of campus students across the country yearn for a spiritual/faith community that can meet their needs. Students who were raised Unitarian Universalist miss the connections they had back home in youth group and students who don't even know about our faith have few options for spiritual community on campus.  We also know that the college years are a time of massive identity development and evolution. It is a time when young adults need tremendous emotional and spiritual support.

Come join ministers, seminarians, college students (commuter and on-campus), lay leaders and lifespan faith development professionals for valuable face-time to talk about campus ministry and how to spread our impact in the lives of individuals and campus communities. Other denominations are present and thriving in campuses with political and religious agendas that many young adults do not support or find nurturing. We need to be more visible. We need to change more lives. We know the need is there so come gather to make plans to meet it. 
 
Here's a link to download the paper registration: http://www.uua.org/documents/congservices/yacm/090923_registration.pdf   ONLINE Registration Info will be available soon and you can find it on ConnectUU.
 
Scholarships are available for those who need assistance.
 
We HOPE to see you in Madison!
In Memoriam - Katie Tyson
Katie Tyson, beloved daughter of Herb and Karen Tyson, was killed Thursday evening, July 2, in a car crash in Colorado after attending General Assembly in Salt Lake City. Katie was an active young adult leader and will be remembered for her passionate commitment to Unitarian Universalism. Fellow young adult community member Heather Concannon was driving back to Boston with Katie and was injured in the accident, but is expected to fully recover.

Katie grew up attending Mount Vernon UU church in Alexandria, VA and more recently was an active member of Arlington Street Church in Boston, MA for which she was a delegate at General Assembly. To honor Katie's memory and to continue her passionate leadership, her parents and friends have initiated the Katie Tyson Fund to train and develop leaders among Unitarian Universalist youth and young adults. Take a moment to learn more about Katie and consider making a donation to the Katie Tyson Fund. The staff of the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries send our thoughts and prayers to Katie's family and friends and to Heather as she recovers.
In Memoriam - Kevin Drewery
On Thursday, August 6, Kevin Drewery lost his valiant struggle against AIDS.  For those of you who know Kevin, a lasting memory of him will be his love for youth ministry and his sometimes misunderstood advocacy for children and youth whose challenging behavior caused other adults to give up on them.
 
For those of you who did not know Kevin, he began his involvement with YRUU as an advisor at the Silver Springs, MD congregation.  Kevin was also Director of Lifespan Faith Development at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Las Vegas, NV and most recently Director of Religious Education at Mission Peak UU Congregation in Fremont, CA.  Kevin also served as a UUA trainer for the Our Whole Lives and the Sexuality and Our Faith programs.
 
Kevin was a Congregational Consultant for the Pacific Southwest District of the UUA, where he has played a wide variety of roles, including facilitating new DRE start-ups and Religious Education retreats, PSWD Leadership Resources Council, and youth camps ministry team.  As the Dean of Elementary Camp and Chaplain at Middle School and Senior High Camps at de Benneville Pines, Kevin's enthusiasm, organizational skills and focus on spirituality will be missed for years to come.
 
Among numerous distinctions, Kevin received the 2007 Pacific Southwest District's award for Distinguished Service to the Cause of Unitarian Universalism by a Religious Professional. This is only the second time this award has been given to a non-ordained religious professional. Before becoming seriously ill, Kevin was in his second year of study for his Master of Divinity degree at Starr King School for the Ministry.
 
Kevin will no doubt be remembered by his constant creative energy, awe-inspiring worship services, beautiful purple alter cloths, and Lego chalices that he designed for at least two congregations.
 
Kevin is no longer with us in body however, his spirit will live on in the hearts and minds of the UU children, youth and adults who he ministered to and with during his well lived, yet too short life.
C*UUYAN News
Greetings from C*UUYAN, the Continental Unitarian Universalist Young Adult Network! Three quick things to let you know about this month:

Virtual meeting a success! July 18th was a first for C*UUYAN as we held an online virtual meeting to give updates on the work of the steering committee, elect new representatives and say thank you to those whose terms were completed. Though attendance was small, feedback was very good as people were happy to have a chance to hear what has been going on with the two task forces established at the pre-GA meeting in 2008, from Karina Leppik - C*UUYAN's outgoing Board of Trustees Observer, and Erik Kesting, Director of the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries . We also bid goodbye with thanks for their great work to Liz Weber, Linnea Huston and Andrew Mertz, all of whom completed their terms on the Steering Committee and welcomed Lindsay Simon as a new At-Large member. We thank all the participants and look forward to more conversations with young adults in the coming months.

Open C*UUYAN positions We currently have openings for two at-large members of the Steering Committee. The Steering Committee guides the big picture of C*UUYAN's direction as well as the practical work for our next annual meeting. Since these will be appointed positions (in the absence of an official ConCurrent election), the term runs until the summer meeting in 2010, when you can run for re-election if you so choose.

We also have an opening for the C*UUYAN Observer to the UUA's Board of Trustees. This position is critical for keeping the C*UUYAN community informed and engaged with the conversations and issues which impact our movement. The person appointed would be responsible for attending three Board meetings (as well as relevant committee meetings) which take place on weekends in Boston, and providing reports not only to the steering committee but also to the broader C*UUYAN body.

Interested in either of these positions? For more information email us at [email protected] or visit www.uuyan.org (where you can also apply).

Looking for more C*UUYAN news? You can find it at www.uuyan.org. We post all of our minutes, decisions, and other news there. We are currently in the process of upgrading the site and adding some features that will allow us to communicate and share resources more effectively. Please feel free to leave comments or feedback for us on the site. You can also contact us at [email protected] or find us on Facebook. Hope to hear from you soon!

In faith,
C*UUYAN Steering Committee
Step Up to Serve on UUA Committees
The UUA relies upon energetic, committed, visionary UUs to serve the twenty-plus committees, panels and task forces that work with staff and the UUA Board to carry out the mission of the Association. We are eager to draw volunteers from the rich diversity of our movement: diversity of race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation and identity, age, geography, skills, and vocation.  
 
Every two years, the Committee on Committees (CoC) reviews and brings recommendations to the Board for appointment and re-appointment to all Board-appointed committees.  This year, the Board will be appointing members to the two-year term beginning January 1, 2010, and re-appointing as appropriate.
 
Please complete the online application for Board-appointed committees at this link, if you wish to be considered for a January appointment that interests you.  The deadline is August 24, 2009.

Contact the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries
Erik B. Kesting - Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries
(617) 948-4359 - [email protected]
Rev. Dr. Monica L. Cummings - Program Associate for Youth and Young Adults of Color
(262) 705-5786 - [email protected]
Nancy DiGiovanni - Campus and Bridging Ministries Associate
(617) 948-4629 - [email protected]
Jeremie Giacoia - Leadership Development Associate
(617) 948-4352 - [email protected]
Sarah Prager - Youth and Young Adult Ministries Office Administrator
(617) 948-4355 - [email protected]