|
Unitarian Universalist Association Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries
November 2010 Young Adult Newsletter
|
| |
Letter from the Editor
An active response.
Dear Friends,One of the ways the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries puts multigenerational community into practice is by informing you about issues of injustice, empowering you to make your voice heard and participate in discussion and debate. Sometimes that is not enough and current events oblige us to respond with action, take a stand, and work to right wrongs. The recent spate of teen suicides in the LGBTQ community caused by bullying is one such case and cannot be tolerated. To address this we are publishing links to resources as well as creating our own because we believe differences in sexual orientation and gender identity should be affirmed. No one should face ostracism or persecution because of who they are or who they love. We want your help because your voice is one that LGBTQ and questioning youth and young adults want and need to hear. Tell the full diversity of the LGBTQ community that they are accepted, supported and loved and that you are committed to "helping make it better now." When you see somebody struggling, help them find the support they need and don't let them go.The Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries is committed to helping make it better now.
In other news, we hope you are inspired to form or participate in a Common Read group and also to add your voice to the virtual discussion on the Facebook "Common Read - The Death of Josseline" group page. And be sure to peruse the Events and Announcements sections which include information and links for conferences, grants and more! Happy reading!
The Editorial Staff UUA Youth and Young Adult Ministries
|
 | Rev. Dr. Monica Cummings |
Pastoral Message
Allies in spirit and action
Hi Family,I write this column with a broken heart. My heart is broken because of the number of young people who have attempted or successfully committed suicide over the past month. My heart is broken because once again cries for help were ignored until a critical mass of suicides forced the media, politicians, clergy and other adult authority figures to pay attention. I just reread Shared Differences: The Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Students of Color in Our Nation's Schools. The findings of this report confirm what the national media is finally reporting: many GBLT students do not experience public schools as being safe spaces for them if their sexual orientation, gender expression or gender identity deviates from what has been defined as the norm. As we have learned over the last month, bullying is at an all-time high and going to school for many GBLT youth is hazardous for their health. Many people are focused on the bullies who have created hell on earth for GBLT youth. What about the silent witnesses who are on the school buses, walking the hallways and sitting in classrooms? What is their responsibility? What GBLT youth and young adults need are allies. People who will support them when they are called disrespectful names, threatened with violence and made to feel other than who they are: human beings who deserve to be treated with love and respect. To quote Audre Lorde, "Your silence will not protect you," because racism, classism, sexism, ableism, ageism, and heterosexism are all linked. Until we each speak up for someone being mistreated, bullies and bigots will continue to interpret our silence as acceptance. If you want to be an ally, join or start a Gay-Straight Alliance group at your school, tell the bully to leave your friend alone, or report abusive behavior to a responsible adult. Finally, you can ask the person being mistreated how you can be supportive. As always I would love to hear from you. You can message me on Facebook at Monica Cummings, email me at mcummings@uua.org or leave a comment for me on the Youth and Young Adults of Color blog "UU Living Mosaic".Living My Faith,Rev. Monica |

How to help
The Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries calls upon everyone to make it better for questioning youth and young adults and is developing resources to help. Here is a partial listing:
For Youth - The Trevor Project - The Trevor Project is determined to end suicide among LGBTQ youth by providing life-saving and life-affirming resources including a nationwide, 24/7 crisis intervention lifeline, digital community and advocacy/educational programs that create a safe, supportive and positive environment for everyone.
For Parents - PFLAG has a dedicated network of resources for parents, families, and friends of LGBTQ youth, communities and others seeking education. For Communities - Religious Institute's Full Inclusion Congregational Self-Assessment - The Religious Institute is a multifaith organization dedicated to advocating for sexual health, education, and justice in faith communities and society. Our partners include the major SRH and LGBT advocacy organizations, as well as the leading mainstream and progressive religious institutions in the United States.Visit the UU Youth Ministry Facebook group for a complete and continuously updated list of resources.
|
SB1070 + Prop 8
Update 11: Motion in the court
(source for graphic: http://colorlines.com) SB1070On November 2 the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments from the federal government and the state of Arizona over the anti-immigrant law SB 1070. The appellate court is examining U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton's decision to enjoin its most controversial portions back in July.SB 1070 makes it a state crime to be undocumented in Arizona and gives law enforcement officers the right to question and investigate a person's immigration status while they're enforcing other state and local laws and even civil codes. The law also demands that a person be kept in custody while law enforcement determines their immigration status. These are the provisions being examined by the appellate court right now. (Read more.)Prop 8The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments for the appeal of Perry v. Schwarzenegger and of Judge Walker's historic ruling finding Prop 8 unconstitutional on Monday, December 6th at 10am PDT.
|
YaYA Leadership
Interim Director Tandi Rogers
Greetings. I'm your Interim Director of the UUA Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries. We'll be walking together through the end of General Assembly.
I am delighted to be serving young adult ministry, as I converted to Unitarian Universalism as a young adult myself. A colleague professor watched a group of us trying to create our own religion and offered to pick us up for church on Sunday. Even though the congregation met in an awful rented hall and was filled primarily with gray-haireds who didn't know how to use our talents and energy, I knew I had found my religious home. When I graduated and moved across the country I looked for a Unitarian Universalist congregation before I even looked for an apartment. The Tacoma, WA congregation invited my enthusiastic leadership and provided me with opportunities, mentors and the multi-generational extended family I craved. Twenty years later, they still do. I hope I can pay it forward and help congregations create the kind of community where young adults can freely give and receive the gifts of truly multigenerational religious community. We need each other. While I am in this position I will be holding up examples of vibrant young adult ministry and connecting programs and leaders. Please don't wait for me to contact you. If you are involved in a program that feeds you and amplifies your life, I want to hear about it. Please call me or pop me an email: 253-278-4646/ trogers@uua.org. But please be patient, as this position is part time. I remain the Program Specialist serving the UUA in the Pacific NW the other part time. You may also post your good news to our Facebook group page. Thank you for the opportunity to serve you and our larger faith. It is an honor and a thrill.
In faith, Tandi
|
Faiths Act Fellows
"Inspiring, challenging, life-changing..."
Those are just a few of the ways Faiths Act Fellows describe the hugely positive force faith is in the world through an exciting, demanding, motivating and moving experience.
The Faiths Act Fellowship, a program of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation in collaboration with Interfaith Youth Core, is a year long paid opportunity for young leaders to work toward the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to end the scandal of extreme poverty. Faiths Act Fellows train during one month in London before being placed in pairs and matched with development organizations and NGOs in their home country. Faiths Act Fellows are in local communities throughout the world, where they work for eleven months building partnerships across faiths, mobilizing communities in support of the MDGs and developing their own interfaith leadership skills. Applicants must be between the ages of 20 and 27 and citizens or legal residents of Canada, India, the United Kingdom or the United States. Join our global mission! Apply to be a 2011 Faiths Act Fellow or recommend someone for the program.
|
Campus Ministry
UUs on FB & UUs@USC
Calling all campus Facebookers in support of UUism! Students and professionals who are a part of, or want to become part of UU campus ministry are invited to join our new Facebook page: "Campus UUs"- Share your great programming practices and ideas.
- Receive feedback on your programs.
- Discuss religious and social justice issues.
- Find a campus ministry program near you.
- Get assistance in starting your own group.
- Be part of a larger community of Campus UUs!
UU Campus Ministry at USC Rev. Ricky Hoyt, the new minister at the First Unitarian Church in downtown Los Angeles, beginning this academic year partnered with students and faculty at the University of Southern California to create a campus ministry group that has already reached out to 12 students! The keys to success at USC are the partnership between Ricky and faculty members that enabled institutional support for their campus ministry group. Read Ricky's story here.
Please remember to share this information with colleagues and friends!
All my best,
Kayla Parker Campus Ministry Associate Ministries and Faith Development
|
|
|

Events
Opportunities Trainings Gatherings
2011 Faiths Acts Fellowship. The Tony Blair Faith Foundation with the Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC) seek candidates aged 20-27 to serve a one-year fellowship to help eradicate extreme poverty. Cuba Fellowship: African American Youth and Afro-Cuban Connection A fellowship for young adults aged 18-24 whose ancestors were forcefully brought to the Americas by way of the trans-Atlantic slave trade and who have demonstrated interest in Afro-Cuban culture. Recipients will engage in research, build positive relationships with Afro-Cubans and connect communities in Cuba and the U.S.
Common Read "The Death of Josseline: Immigration Stories from the Arizona Borderlands" This month the UUA initiates the Common Read project. Participants are invited to read and discuss the same book in a given period of time. A Common Read builds community within congregations and among Unitarian Universalists by giving diverse people a shared experience, a shared language and a basis for deep and meaningful conversations. Purchase Margaret Regan's book in hardcover or paperback from the UUA Bookstore. The book is available in hardcover at public libraries.
Dynamic Youth Ministry geared toward Unitarian Universalists. This online course grounds students in theological, ethical and programmatic aspects of youth ministry, building youth ministry that is a vibrant, robust and flexible part of every congregation. Learn about youth leadership and spiritual development, professional support for youth advisors, adolescent life issues, multigenerational community building and various models of youth programming. To register, reference course number "EDFT-8462" in an e-mail to mdowdell@ses.gtu.edu and bruetersward@gmail.com.
|

Announcements
Association-wide International Regional Local
Plan, Lead and Minister: Seeking 2011 GA Caucus Chaplain!The Young Adult Caucus at General Assembly seeks a Chaplain! This is an incredible leadership opportunity to serve as the chaplain and worship leader for the young adult community at GA. The role includes being on the planning team for the Synergy Worship and a possible opportunity to coordinate the service! And if that's not enough, you get to attend the 50th General Assembly for free! The application is due Wednesday, December 1, 2010. Contact Victoria Mitchell, Young Adult Caucus Co-Moderator, with any questions. Join a UUA Board Committee and represent the diversity of Unitarian Universalism. 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.
Job Listing: Youth and Young Adult Ministries Director Provide vision, leadership and services in support of the UUA's youth and young adult ministries. The ideal candidate has a deep understanding of Unitarian Universalism and demonstrates exceptional organizational, advocacy, teambuilding and communication skills. Experience with youth and young adult ministries and a record of anti-racism/anti-oppression/multiculturalism experience is important. The candidate possesses strong leadership skills, the ability to build and lead a large team and manage a significant budget, and excellent writing and public speaking skills.
Board Member Search for the UU Ministry for Earth The UU Ministry for Earth is an independent nonprofit organization that strives to provide UUs with organized ways to connect energy, ideas and information about how their lives relate to the living Earth, environmental justice and future generations. We are looking for a young adult passionate about Earth justice to serve as a member of our board. Email office@uuministryforearth.org for more information. Recruiting Web Communications (Content and Monitoring) and Other Volunteers The UUMFE envisions a world in which all people make reverence, gratitude and care for the living Earth central to their lives. Our purpose is to inspire, facilitate and support personal, congregational and denominational practices that honor and sustain the Earth and all beings. If you are passionate about Earth justice, please join us! Email office@uuministryforearth.org for more information.
Field Test "A Place of Wholeness" High School Youth Program - Fall 2010 The UUA seeks congregations diverse in size, location and culture to field test a new 12-session program, "A Place of Wholeness." Framing a Unitarian Universalist identity as both inheritors of a strong faith tradition and co-creators of that faith's future, the program guides youth towards understanding their place in this interdependent religion of love, faith, hope, reason, freedom and tolerance. For information or to apply, please contact Ministries and Faith Development by email at fieldtest@uua.org or call Alicia LeBlanc at 617-948-4371.
|
 Resources
Books Videos Website Organizations
Resource - "Standing on the Side of Love Activist Toolkit" - download application for your FREE memory stick! This toolkit gives you the tools to further the Standing on the Side of Love campaign in your community and it comes on a cool memory stick!
Video - "A Religion for Our Time, Episode 10: Multicultural Ministry"Episode Ten shares insights from the fifteen-year journey of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Annapolis (UUCA), Maryland toward becoming a more diverse congregation. How do you in your church create this multiracial, multicultural paradigm? UUCA Associate Minister Rev. John Crestwell explains by making it "...a conscious, deliberate and determined effort of the congregation. You've got to look at every aspect of your ministry and make every aspect of that ministry speak to the reality that you seek."Video - "A Religion for Our Time, Episode 9: Deepening Faith through Service" Episode 9 shows how the social justice program at the Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Church of Pasadena, CA engages the congregation in a range of projects and facilitates participants' spiritual growth. As Associate Minister Rev. Hannah Petrie observes, "Some of our most spiritual moments - where we're really connected with the divine - happen when we're in service to others and service of a more just and peaceful world."
Grant information for Young Adults working with Youth - Youth Project Grants Grants are available ranging in value from $200-$2,000 to help support congregations and districts by creating opportunities for youth, including service and spirituality projects. |
|
Evolution
We are working on making your newsletter more fun to read and use, with more opportunities to get involved, connect with other UUs and deepen your faith.
Let us know what you think! What's missing? What are you tired of seeing?
E-mail us at youngadults@uua.org Keep reading - let's evolve together! 
|
|
|
|