Youth Ministries Updates
A monthly newsletter of the UUA Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries    September 2009

In This Issue
UUA Internship Opportunity
YMAC Update
Workshops at General Assembly
Greetings from the Director
From the Program Associate for Ministry to Youth and Young Adults of Color
Upcoming Chrysalis Trainings
UUA Internship Opportunity
Ever thought about getting to work at UU headquarters? Need something to put on your resume? Been wanting to deepen your UU spirituality? Have some extra hours to spare?

You can gain all of that and more through a January-May internship for the UUA's Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries. Find out all of the details and apply by December 1!
Youth Ministry Advisory Committee (YMAC) Update
The YMAC Transition Team, as identified by the Youth Ministry Working Group, has begun meeting.  In collaboration with the UUA Administration, this group will draft a charge and selection process for the Youth Ministry Advisory Committee, as called for by the Youth Ministry Working Group. 

You can read the recommendation that calls for the YMAC and the transition team's role in the larger report.
Workshops at General Assembly
If you have an exciting idea for a workshop you'd like to present at General Assembly in Minneapolis, Minnesota, June 23-27, 2010, check out more information and the application!

The GA Planning Committee is looking for great workshops and is definitely interested in workshops with a multigenerational focus and with multigenerational leadership teams. The deadline for applications in October 15th, so don't delay!
Greetings from the Director
Greetings all,
 
Putting together a new office has certainly kept us busy this month in the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries. Nonetheless, the slow days of summer have provided a prime opportunity to do a little house cleaning. As we have gone through old files and destined them for archiving or recycling, one find has become a favorite distraction of mine: a pile People Soup issues from the 1970s. People Soup was the official publication of Liberal Religious Youth (LRY). Reading through the faded newsprint gives a glimpse of the ways in which Unitarian Universalist youth ministry has changed over the past thirty years and the ways in which it has stayed the same.
 
Of course, one thing that has changed is how we communicate. We no longer have People Soup or Synapse--its successor publication. Instead, Unitarian Universalists and their communities are using Facebook (Check out UU Youth Ministry on Facebook), Twitter, YouTube, and more to creatively express themselves and post helpful resources online for the whole world to read! The Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington, Virginia is even beta testing their new website using the social networking platform Ning.
 
You will notice this month that we have changed the way we deliver Youth Ministries Updates. Some advantages to this new system include the option to easily forward Youth Ministries Updates to a friend, youth, minister, youth advisor, or director of religious education and encourage them to subscribe--also an easy task with this new system! I hope you enjoy our new format. We welcome your feedback and your submissions at [email protected].  
 
In faith,

Erik B. Kesting
UUA Youth and Young Adult Ministries Director

P.S. Speaking of communication, stay tuned for our launch of a new Youth Ministry blog later this fall!
From the Program Associate for Ministry to Youth and Young Adults of Color
I am sitting in my home office listening to rain outside my window very mindful that many of you are preparing to return to school or wrapping your mind around the fact that summer is over.  For those of you who participate in the life of a congregation, September is a time of ingathering and the renewal of programming.
 
In the month of September I will attend and co-facilitate caucus workshops to support young adults who identity as people of color (persons of Native American, Asian, Arab, Latino/a, African descent, trans-racially adopted, bi-racial and multiracial) and people who identify as LBGT at the Sustain the Spirit, Young Adult Labor Day Weekend Camp at de Benneville Pines.  I will also spend time at the UUA in Boston networking, attending meetings and deepening my working relationship with members of the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries.
 
I invite and encourage you to stay informed about programming, upcoming events and opportunities for leadership by visiting the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries online at uua.org and connectuu.com. Also if you identity as a person of color, please check out uuyayaoc.blogs.uua.org and druumm.org.
 
Living My Faith,
Rev Monica
[email protected]
uuyayaoc.blogs.uua.org
Upcoming Chrysalis Trainings
The Chrysalis Training Program offers youth and adults the opportunity to gather, build community, and learn and enhance the skills needed to be effective youth ministry leaders. There are three trainings currently scheduled:
To find out how your district, organization, or congregational cluster can host a Chrysalis Training, contact Jeremie Giacoia, Leadership Development Associate, at [email protected].
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]
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